Heimir Hallgrímsson says Ireland fans should hold off on booking flights to the USA in 2026 - but that there would be no harm in starting to price up a trans-Atlantic trip.

The Boys in Green boss is targeting automatic World Cup qualification - after Friday's draw saw Ireland avoid some of Europe’s biggest nations.

Ireland will face either Portugal or Denmark as first seeds in Group F, while Hungary and Armenia make up the rest of the four-team group.

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Ireland will open their campaign at home to Hungary on September 6, before travelling to Armenia three nights later.

Hallgrímsson’s men could have been drawn against top seeds Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, Croatia, Spain or the Netherlands.

Having avoided some of the continent’s bigger names, the former Iceland and Jamaica manager insisted that first place would be very much up for grabs.

“We will be ready when it comes to September. I’m not going to tell you to book the flights to the USA but… start looking,” he said.

Asked if Ireland could chase top spot, he replied: “Yes, nobody has that first spot reserved.

“Of course, the top seeded teams are most likely to be there, everybody thinks that, but it’s not always like that.”

He added that while some nations tend to cruise through qualification with 100 percent records, Group F could shape up to be a closely fought affair.

“Having coached Iceland for so long, I know some teams like England will go through qualification pretty smoothly with a 100 percent record,” he said.

“That’s teams like Germany and England. They may not be considered the best but always go through 100 percent.

“These teams tend to go through qualification with a 100 percent record and (it’s good) just to avoid those.”

Of course, Portugal went through their Euro 2024 campaign with 10 wins from 10, but in a weak group that included Hallgrímsson’s native Iceland, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Liechtenstein.

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