IRE vs AFG: Washed-out 1st ODI sends Ireland to World Cup 2027 Qualifiers

Ireland will have to play the Qualifier tournament to make their way to the 2027 ODI World Cup in Africa after their first ODI against Afghanistan got washed out. The incessant rain at the Bready Cricket Club, Bready, Northern Ireland meant that the first ODI of the five-match series was washed out without a toss on Wednesday, August 5.

Ireland, who are currently 11th in the ICC men's ODI team rankings, needed several results to go their way in order to earn direct qualification for the next World Cup, scheduled to be held in southern Africa. They needed to whitewash Afghanistan 5-0 and also depended on West Indies to lose their two ODIs against India before the cutoff date on September 30 to go above Zimbabwe, West Indies and Bangladesh in the rankings.

However, their hopes have now been dashed, and they will need to participate in the 10-team Qualifier tournament, the winner of which will get direct entry into the main group of the World Cup. On the other hand, teams finishing second, third and fourth in the Qualifier will have to go through another round called the Super Series to enter the main World Cup tournament.

The 10-team World Cup Qualifier will comprise the two lowest-ranked Full Members in the ICC ODI rankings (excluding hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe) as of September 30, 2026, the top four teams from the Cricket World Cup League 2, and four teams emerging from the World Cup Qualifier Playoff.

Ireland also missed ODI World Cup 2023 qualification

The Qualifier Playoff will feature the bottom four sides from League 2 alongside the top four teams from the Challenge League, effectively the third tier of the ODI pathway. While the format for the eight-team tournament is yet to be finalised, the top four finishers will secure places in the World Cup Qualifier.

The Challenge League itself consists of 12 teams split into two groups of six. Each group will contest three round-robin tournaments during the qualification cycle, with the top two teams from each pool progressing to the Qualifier Playoff.

Ireland also missed out on the 2023 ODI World Cup after being eliminated in the Super Six stage of the qualifier for the previous edition of the tournament, played in India.