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Nations League – The Irish Times

Halftime: Ireland 0 Greece 0

Not a great game, but the game came alive in the last five minutes of the half when Ogbene almost scored a cracker, but Hallgrimsson won't be too unhappy about that, as it's all to play for in the second half.

44 minutes: Chance for Ireland after an Ireland counter attack when Szmodics got the move going, good move from Smallbone, went to Ogbene who feinted and passed to Browne but his shot went wide.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

41st minute: Goal not awarded to Ireland! Oh, what a pity, Ogbene had given the crowd a reason to cheer with his chest down and shot a half-volley into the top corner from outside the penalty area. But it was just offside.

38 minutes: Bakasetas is injured after an aerial collision with Collins.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

33 minutes: Yellow card for Omobamidele for a foul on a Greek attack. He has to be careful now. Szmodics sees that the goalkeeper is not on the line and tries from distance, but it goes well over.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

28 minutes: Bakasetas takes a very beautiful, powerful free kick, which Kelleher parries well. The corner is safely blocked by Ireland with a header.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

25 minutes: Ireland now have some possession but are not really getting through the lines. Then Dara O'Shea loses the ball. Smallbone fouls Bakasetas in a dangerous area.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

22 minutes: Better pass from Molumby, finds Ogbene on the wing and great play from Smallbone, back pass to Knight in the box and to Browne, but can't get the shot off.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

18 minutes: So far, it's been a dull game, and the crowds are also lackluster. Hopefully Ireland can improve a bit. Ogbene gets the ball on the wing, but his cross is blocked.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

14 minutes: Szmodics wins a corner for Ireland, but Smallbone's corner is headed away.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

11 minutes: First chance of the game: Koulierakis with a beautiful header after a corner to the front post, which goes just over the bar for Greece.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

6 minutes: Tsimikas again finds space on the wing, but his cross is too far. Not much happens in the early stages.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

2 minutes: Collins heads away an early cross from Tsimikas. Greece appear to be putting Ireland under a lot of pressure.

Ireland 0 Greece 0

The Greek national anthem was not booed. Here are the teams again:

Ireland: Caoimhin Kelleher; Nathan Collins (captain), Andrew Omobamidele, Dara O'Shea, Robbie Brady; Jayson Molumby, Jason Knight, Alan Browne, Will Smallbone; Chiedozie Ogbene, Sam Szmodics.

Greece: Odysseas Vlachodimos; Lazaros Rota, Ntinos Mavopanos, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Kostas Tsimikas; Manolis Siopis, Andreas Bouchalakis; Taos Chatzigiovanis, Tasos Bakasetas (captain), Christos Tolis, Fotis Ioannidis

Ireland are scheduled to line up in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Knight behind Szmodics. Hallgrimsson tells RTÉ Ireland will have more possession. “We need to find the right players, let them play further and give them more confidence in their game.”

Ireland has every reason to prepare for a tough test in Greece, writes James McDermott.

“That feeling is, fittingly, strongest when they face Greece, who have won four and drawn one of their five games against Ireland, with the Republic scoring just one goal. Last year, Greece claimed a double win over Ireland, winning 2-1 in Athens and 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium to secure a play-off place for Euro 2024.

“The gap between the countries is even wider at club level, as was evident in August when PAOK comfortably overtook Shamrock Rovers with an aggregate score of 6-0 to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League. Things were much closer in the 2021 Europa Conference League, when Bohemians were unlucky to lose to PAOK with an aggregate score of 3-2.”

[ Every reason for Ireland to be braced for tough Greek test ]

FT: Ireland 2 Latvia 2. 29 shots on goal, 71% possession but a draw in Tallaght for the U21s. Could unfortunately be the deciding factor in not qualifying with Norway and Italy still to come. Not over yet but a big slip-up at home. Here was the equaliser:

The score in the U21s is still 2:2. 89 minutes have been played and time is running out for Jim Crawford's team.

The Irish team is out:

Caoimhin Kelleher; Nathan Collins (captain), Andrew Omobamidele, Dara O'Shea, Robbie Brady; Jayson Molumby, Jason Knight, Alan Browne, Will Smallbone; Chiedozie Ogbene, Sam Szmodics.

It's an unusual formation, hard to say what it will be. It looks like the midfield will be strengthened anyway with Browne and Knight coming in and Idah out. It looks like Szmodics could be up front.

The Greek team:

Odysseas Vlachodimos; Lazaros Rota, Ntinos Mavopanos, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Kostas Tsimikas; Manolis Siopis, Andreas Bouchalakis; Taos Chatzigiovanis, Tasos Bakasetas (captain), Christos Tolis, Fotis Ioannidis

Ireland are playing a 2-2 draw with Latvia in Tallaght in their U21 European Championship qualifier. There are 20 minutes left to play, but the Irish must win to qualify.

Gavin Cummiskey focuses in his pre-match preview on the not so rosy financial figures of the FAI:

“The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) needs a win against Greece tonight as much as its new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson and the players under pressure.

“The club's cash balance at the end of 2023 was 1.6 million euros, up from 10.9 million euros in 2022, as the general meeting will explain on Saturday, in order to service old debts currently amounting to 43.2 million euros.

“These figures should not have a direct bearing on a Nations League match in which Ireland are trying to avoid a third defeat to Greece in 15 months. But the debt explains why Irish football has been deep in austerity for a decade.

[ Little respite for Ireland ahead of tricky Greece assignment ]

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Ireland's second Nations League match against Greece at the Aviva Stadium. Saturday was a sobering day against old rivals England, who outclassed Ireland with a 2-0 result that flattered the boys in green. Beating Greece at home is a more realistic target but after a difficult start the pressure is already mounting on the management team. Defeat would put Ireland on the defensive and they would have to focus on League C.

Gus Poyet is no longer at the helm as Greece, under new coach Ivan Jovanovic, beat Finland 3-0 in Athens on Saturday, with two goals from Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis. They are a tricky team who kept Ireland and Stephen Kenny under control in Euro 2024 qualifying, beating Ireland home and away.

Evan Ferguson will not be fit enough to start the game. Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson. Saturday was Ferguson's first game since an ankle injury last March. Captain Séamus Coleman will miss the game through injury, his place in the squad will be taken by Festy Ebosele. Without Josh Cullen in midfield, the big responsibility falls on Will Smallbone to lead a weak midfield, while Ireland, if management continues with a back five, will need to see more from the full-back positions. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.

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