Dundalk FC have been drawn into Group D of the Europa League against Russia's Zenit St. Petersburg.

The team qualified for the group stages of the Europa League after they were eliminated by Legia Warsaw in the Champions League play-offs earlier this week. The Louth team are the first Irish side to compete in the group stages of the competition since Shamrock Rovers did in 2011.

Dundalk were also paired with AZ Alkmaar and Israel's Maccabbi Tel Aviv.

Stephen Kenny's side were the lowest ranked team in the draw and could have been drawn against the likes of Manchester United, Inter Milan, Roma, Fenerbache or Southampton.

Their Group D campaign begins on September 15th, away to AZ Alkmaar.

In Group A, Manchester United were given a very tough draw against Fenerbache, Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk.

Southampton were third seeds in their group. They were drawn in Group K against Inter Milan, Sparta Prague and Hapoel Beer-Sheva.