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Nations League play-off first leg: Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland
Venue: Stadion Hristo Botev, Plovdiv Date: Thursday, 2 March Time: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Live text coverage on the BBC Sport website & app
Manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says it is "important" the Republic of Ireland retain their place in League B of the Nations League.
The Republic face Bulgaria in the first leg of a relegation-promotion play-off in Plovdiv on Thursday.
Hallgrimsson, who took over as manager in July, says retaining their League B status is crucial to the development of the team.
"My thoughts are that we need to play good opponents day in and day out to develop as a team," Hallgrimsson said.
"That's why League B is important for us. There are differing views on it and I respect that, but I think it's really important to stay in League B and play higher-ranked opponents."
The Republic of Ireland dropped into the play-off after finishing in third place behind England and Greece in League B2.
Bulgaria were second in League C3 behind winners Northern Ireland, who inflicted a 5-0 defeat on Ilian Iliev's side in October at Windsor Park.
"The strength of the Bulgaria team is their collective," Hallgrimsson added.
"They are an honest team, tactically solid and difficult to break down.
"If you look at the recent results, since Ilian Iliev took over, 12 games and one loss, and that was a big defeat in Northern Ireland but that was an outlier.
"They conceded five goals but they were without five players, missed a penalty and hit the crossbar.
"They have had really good results in Plovdiv and I understand why they wanted to play here."
The second leg takes place at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Monday.
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Venue: Stadion Hristo Botev, Plovdiv Date: Thursday, 2 March Time: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Live text coverage on the BBC Sport website & app
Manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says it is "important" the Republic of Ireland retain their place in League B of the Nations League.
The Republic face Bulgaria in the first leg of a relegation-promotion play-off in Plovdiv on Thursday.
Hallgrimsson, who took over as manager in July, says retaining their League B status is crucial to the development of the team.
"My thoughts are that we need to play good opponents day in and day out to develop as a team," Hallgrimsson said.
"That's why League B is important for us. There are differing views on it and I respect that, but I think it's really important to stay in League B and play higher-ranked opponents."
The Republic of Ireland dropped into the play-off after finishing in third place behind England and Greece in League B2.
Bulgaria were second in League C3 behind winners Northern Ireland, who inflicted a 5-0 defeat on Ilian Iliev's side in October at Windsor Park.
"The strength of the Bulgaria team is their collective," Hallgrimsson added.
"They are an honest team, tactically solid and difficult to break down.
"If you look at the recent results, since Ilian Iliev took over, 12 games and one loss, and that was a big defeat in Northern Ireland but that was an outlier.
"They conceded five goals but they were without five players, missed a penalty and hit the crossbar.
"They have had really good results in Plovdiv and I understand why they wanted to play here."
The second leg takes place at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Monday.
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