No luck o’ the Irish in Monday’s FIFA World Cup playoff draw

Those are the playoff dates coming up for the remaining World Cup berths. And now we know the European matchups, which were drawn Monday in Zurich.

Here’s how it shook out. (If you’re an Ireland fan, brace yourself:)

Ireland vs. France

Portugal vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina

Greece vs. Ukraine

Russia vs. Slovenia

(The teams listed first will host the Nov. 14 leg.)

This is a huge blow for Ireland, as France and Portugal were always seen as the teams to avoid. It’s especially irksome to Ireland’s Italian manager Giovanni Trapattoni, who was not happy with FIFA’s decision to seed the playoffs. Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine and Slovenia went unseeded, which meant they could not play each other.

Ireland played in the 2002 World Cup but missed Germany 2006.