Of the 22 entrants, 12 teams played in the first round. The 6 winners then joined another 10 teams, including Ireland, in the second round. On May 28 at the Stade Olympique, the Ireland beat Bulgaria 1-0 with Paddy Duncan scoring the only goal. As a result of this win they qualified for the quarter-finals. On June 2 they played the Netherlands at the Stade de Paris in Saint-Ouen but lost 2-1 after extra-time. However, the following day, before returning home, the team played one more game, beating Estonia, 3-1 in a friendly at the Stade Olympique.