Ireland international Paul Dick in action against Kosovo at the National Basketball Arena in a FIBA Basketball World Cup 2029 Pre-Qualifier in November 2024.
Ireland men’s basketball team will face North Macedonia, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan in Group A of the FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers, following the draw which took place in Riga, Latvia on Monday.
Ireland begin their campaign away against Luxembourg on November 27th, followed by a home game against top seeds North Macedonia three days later at the National Basketball Arena. It will be the first qualifying campaign under new Ireland head coach Micheal Bree, following his appointment in July.
Ireland, who are second seeds in Group A, will be up against familiar opponents, in Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. Ireland faced Azerbaijan in their most recent FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Pre-Qualifiers campaign, winning 91-67 at home in November 2024, followed by a 79-64 success in Baku last February, as Ireland finished second in their group with a 3-3 record.
Ireland also picked up a pair of wins against Luxembourg in the third round of FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers, winning 96-76 away from home in July 2023, followed by 79-76 victory at the National Basketball Arena 10 days later.
Commenting on draw, Ireland men's head coach Michael Bree said: “We are looking forward to competing in the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket pre-qualifying games. It will be an excellent opportunity to test ourselves against quality competition in Europe. I am excited to finally get the group together and begin preparations.”
Ireland played two friendly games against Norway in July, losing 87-79 in game one, followed by a 82-77 success in game two at the National Basketball Arena, with Bree's backroom team taking charge of those two fixtures.
FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers Group A fixtures
Thursday, 27th November 2025
Luxembourg v Ireland
Sunday, 30th November 2025
Ireland v North Macedonia
Friday 27th February 2026
Ireland v Azerbaijan
Monday 2nd March 2026
Ireland v Luxembourg
Thursday, 2nd July 2026
North Macedonia v Ireland
Sunday, 5th July 2026
Azerbaijan v Ireland
