By MARY HANNIGAN

Montenegro

Fifa ranking: 26

Uefa ranking: 35

Manager: Branko Brnovic. He was assistant manager of the national team from 2007 but replaced the sacked Zlatko Kranjcar in September when a defeat to Wales in Cardiff threatened Montenegro’s hopes in the group. The 44-year-old is a former Yugoslav international, who played in the 1998 World Cup finals for Serbia and Montenegro.

Last meetings with the Republic of Ireland: The teams drew 0-0 home and away in the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup finals.

How they fared in Group G: Their 2-2 draw at home to group winners England last week clinched them the runners-up spot ahead of Switzerland, meaning their 2-0 defeat in Basel on Tuesday counted for nothing. They won their first three games in the group, all 1-0 victories – against Wales, Bulgaria and Switzerland – but drew three (including a 0-0 at Wembley) and lost two of the remaining five, scoring just seven goals in the whole campaign.

What they said: Stefan Savic (Manchester City) – “It means a lot to the people back home. Weve only had five years together as a nation and as a team, so we’re very happy. We only have a population of 650,000, so it’s an enormous achievement for our country to reach the play-offs.”

One to watch: Mirko Vucinic. Since scoring 19 goals for Lecce in 28 Serie A games seven seasons back, Vucinic, now captain of his country, has been the star of Montenegran football. He scored the only goals of the group games against Wales and Switzerland. Last summer Juventus signed him from Roma for €15 million.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Fifa ranking: 22 (Ireland are ranked 29)

Uefa ranking: 19 (Ireland are ranked 13)

Manager: Safet Susic. He won 54 caps for Yugoslavia, playing in two World Cup finals and the 1984 European Championships. He appeared for almost a decade in midfield for Paris Saint-Germain, the readers of France Football voting him the club’s greatest ever player. He coached seven clubs, including five in Turkey, before being appointed Bosnia-Herzegovina manager in 2009.

Last meetings with the Republic of Ireland: They’ve never met.

How they fared in Group D: They were 12 minutes away from winning their group, having taken the lead through Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko against France in Paris, but an equalising penalty from Dzeko’s City team-mate Samir Nasri meant they had to settle for a place in the play-offs. They won six of their 10 qualifying games, their only defeats coming at home to France (2-0) and away to Romania (3-0).

What they said: Safet Susic – “This is not the end, we have shown in Paris that we can stand our ground against anyone and I am confident we will qualify through the play-offs. This is not the same team that lost the 2010 World Cup play-off to Portugal, these lads are now playing with a lot more confidence and are not afraid to take the game to Europe’s best teams.”

One to watch: Edin Dzeko. Roma’s Miralem Pjanic might be the rising star for Bosnia-Herzegovina, but Dzeko, averaging a goal every two games for his country, remains their key man. He’s scored seven goals in nine appearances for Manchester City this season, before his run-in with Roberto Mancini, and four in 10 group qualifying games.

Estonia

World ranking: 58

Uefa ranking: 37

Manager: Tarmo Ruutli. After a 23-year playing career with four Estonian clubs, Ruutli, now 57, moved in to management with another local side before his first brief spell in charge of the national team. He returned as manager in 2008.

Last meetings with the Republic of Ireland: Mick McCarthy’s side beat Estonia 2-0 home and away in the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign.

How they fared in Group C: Estonia finished 10 points behind group winners Italy and a point clear of Serbia, whose 1-0 defeat in Slovenia on Tuesday ended their hopes of taking the runners-up spot. They won just two of their five home games, the first against Brian Kerr’s Faroe Islands when they needed two injury-time goals to rescue them after they fell behind. They picked up three wins on their travels, the most impressive their 3-1 defeat of Serbia in Belgrade. They also got the better of Slovenia in Ljubljana (2-1) and Northern Ireland in Belfast (2-1) in their final group game, a result that lifted them in to second, but they had a day to forget in the Faroe Islands where they lost 2-0.

What they said: Aivar Pohlak (Estonian FA president) – “The most important thing now is to control our emotions, but it’s a tough thing to do. If someone had told me after the Faroe Islands game we would finish second, I’d have thought they were out of their minds. We have already over achieved. Now we have to maintain this standard to compete in the play-offs.” .

One to watch: Konstantin Vassiljev. The midfielder only came on as a substitute for the last 25 minutes of the game in Belfast last week, but his two goals sealed the win. Plays for Russian Premier League side Amkar Perm and was Estonia’s top scorer in the campaign with five goals in nine games.

Turkey

World ranking: 27

Uefa ranking: 18

Manager: Guus Hiddink. One of the most experienced coaches in world football, the 64-year-old Dutchman has had spells with PSV Eindhoven, Fenerbache, Valencia, Real Madrid and Chelsea, among others, as well as international stints with the Netherlands, South Korea (for the 2002 World Cup finals), Australia and Russia.

Last meetings with the Republic of Ireland: The teams drew 2-2 in a 2009 friendly in Dublin, but before that Turkey went through to the 2000 European Championships after beating Ireland on away goals in the play-offs.

How they fared in Group A: With 10 wins out of 10 Germany were the runaway winners of the group, with Turkey holding off Belgium to take second place, although it took them an hour to find the winner they needed in their final group game at home to Azerbaijan. Goals were hard enough to come by for the Turks, managing just 13 in their 10 games, and six of them came in two of their group matches.

What they said: Hamit Altintop (Real Madrid) – “We always expected Germany to come first in this group, and by qualifying for the play-offs we did what we set out to do. As a team, we’re aware of our shortcomings, but they are technical issues we can overcome by working harder. If each and every individual player sets the bar high for himself, we will definitely grow.”

One to watch: Arda Turan. The 24-year-old winger joined Atletico Madrid from Galatasaray during the summer, his €12 million fee (plus add-ons) making him the most expensive Turkish transfer of all time. In his eight appearances in the group stages, he scored four and had one assist.