Republic of Ireland face an uphill battle to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time after they were drawn against Spain, Norway and Switzerland in the third edition of the Nations League.

Carla Ward's side remained in League A following their brilliant performances in Women's World Cup qualifying, but have been handed a tough draw as they look to keep their place in the top tier.

The four group winners of League A will progress to the Nations League semi-finals and earn a place at the 2028 Games in LA.

Third place will face a promotion/relegation play-off against a League B side, while fourth place will be relegated to the second tier.

With all that in mind, BBC Sport NI looks at the Irish's three opponents in greater detail.

Spain

World champions Spain, who also won the Nations League title in 2024 and 2025, need little introduction.

Spain have been one of the most dominant sides in women's football in recent years after they defeated England to win the World Cup for the first time in 2023.

They then lost the Euro 2025 final against Sarina Wiegman's side, but will be aiming to retain their world crown at next year's tournament in Brazil, which they automatically qualified for at the expense of the Lionesses.

Under Sonia Bermudez, who took over as boss in August last year, Spain won five of their six World Cup qualifying games, including a 5-0 victory over England at home, to finish top of their group.

They possess a talented squad that includes three-time Ballon d'Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati and exciting young players such as Salma Paralluelo and Vicky Lopez, who has won back-to-back Women's Young Talent of the Year awards.

The two sides previously met in Euro 2017 qualifying, with Spain comfortably winning both home and away games 3-0.

They will be favourites to win the group easily and provide formidable opposition for the Irish, but Ward wants her side to embrace the challenge of facing the world's best.

"Who doesn't want to play against the world champions? From the moment I took this job, I've said time and time again that we want to test ourselves against the very best, and this is our opportunity. Spain are the best team in the world right now; their quality is exceptional and nobody really comes close to them," she said.

"We know the challenge ahead. It's going to be games where we have to be extraordinarily disciplined, stay compact, and frustrate them. We've shown against sides like France and the Netherlands that we have that resilience in our DNA, and that has to be the exact mindset we bring to the pitch."

Norway

Norway are also a formidable force in women's football and will provide another stern test for Republic of Ireland.

World Cup winners in 1995 and two-time Euros winners, they consistently qualify for major tournaments, but, like the Irish, face a play-off to reach the upcoming World Cup.

Under former Wales manager Gemma Grainger, they finished second in their qualifying group behind Germany, with 12 points from their six games.

They dispatched Romania 8-0 over two legs of their first-round play-off and now face Wales in the second round as they look to qualify for their 10th consecutive World Cup finals.

They too have quality in the final third in the form of Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen and Lyon's Ada Hegerberg, a Ballon d'Or winner in 2018 and the Women's Champions League's all-time top goal scorer.

The two teams were drawn together in World Cup 2019 qualifying, with Norway winning 2-0 in Tallaght before Graham Hansen scored a penalty to give them a narrow win in Stavanger.

They will be eyeing second place in the group, but Republic of Ireland have shown against France and the Netherlands that they are not afraid to push those above them in the rankings and steal a narrow win.

Ward is looking forward to a reunion with her "good friend" Grainger in the two games as well as the chance to come up against more high-quality opposition.

"There are no easy games at this level in League A. Norway have real prestige as former world champions, and on paper they possess one of the strongest squads in world football," she explained.

"They're also managed by a good friend of mine in Gemma Grainger, so I'm really looking forward to going up against her."

Switzerland

Switzerland are the lowest ranked team after they won their League B group to seal promotion back to League A.

Rafel Navarro's team won five of of their six World Cup qualifying games to top the group and book a play-off spot.

Two of those came against Northern Ireland as they picked up a 2-0 home win and 2-1 away victory.

They beat Israel 9-3 on aggregate in the first round of play-offs and will now come up against Austria over two legs for the chance to reach a third World Cup.

Navarro can rely on experienced captain Lia Walti as well as exciting Barcelona midfielder Sydney Schertenleib.

The Swiss have twice been relegated from League A of the Nations League, and Republic of Ireland will hope to pick up six points against them in a bid to condemned them to the same fate for a third time.

"Switzerland are another really difficult prospect, just off the back of a solid campaign and very capable, developing side who have picked up strong results recently," Ward said.

"We respect every opponent, but we also back ourselves. We genuinely believe we can go toe-to-toe with the best and get results."