A trip to play Bosnia and Herzegovina or Northern Ireland awaits the winners in the Path B final.
Ireland now face two matches on the road in their bid to make next summer’s finals when two fixtures are guaranteed at the Aviva Stadium for the Path B winners.
But McCarthy is focused only on the task his team will face in Slovakia next March.
“The only game that matters to us now is Slovakia,” said McCarthy after attending the draw in Nyon on Friday.
“If we win the first game against Slovakia then I will fancy our chances anywhere else. We will have our analysis done on all three teams but our focus is on Slovakia first and getting ready for them in the New Year.
“We know what we have to do, we have to go there and win the game. Home advantage is just that but if we play as well as we did against Denmark then I will settle for that. We set the bar high on Monday night and that is the standard we will have to play at to win two games.”
Ireland fans will have to wait until December 20th for final confirmation of the match venue in Slovakia.
FAI officials met with their Slovakian counterparts in Nyon to discuss the venue and ticket allocation for visiting fans.
An FAI spokesman said: “Slovakia have intimated the game will take place in Bratislava but they have some final checks to make on the ground there before they can confirm it as the venue.
“We have also opened talks with them on the allocation of tickets and will update our fans as soon as we can. We are guaranteed 5 per cent of the tickets but we are negotiating for more.
“Tickets will be allocated to supporters based on away attendance records from the last two campaigns. We will announce the application process as soon as we know our allocation.”