The Republic of Ireland looks to seal back-to-back wins in the UEFA Nations League with their visit to the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium to face Greece in Athens tonight.
Heimir Hallgrímsson's side are buoyant heading into the fixture following their dramatic 2-1 win over Finland on Thursday night in Helsinki.
After Joel Pohjanpalo's opener, Liam Scales' header, which was his first international goal, grabbed the equaliser for Ireland in the 57th minute before Robbie Brady benefitted from Festy Ebosele's impressive wing-play to fire home at the backpost with two minutes to go to secure a famous win.
Ireland will be looking to use the confidence and momentum from Helsinki in Athens, with a crowd of 28,000 expected at the 30,000-seat stadium today, including an expected 1,000 strong crowd of Irish supporters.
🇬🇷 𝐌 𝐀 𝐓 𝐂 𝐇 𝐃 𝐀 𝐘 🇮🇪
A huge evening ahead in Athens 🤩
⚽️ | Greece v Ireland
🏆 | UEFA Nations League
⌚️ | 7:45pm (Irish time)
📺 | @RTE2
📝 | https://t.co/ymW4SIVXMs pic.twitter.com/RKuUfFjnmR— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) October 13, 2024
Mark McGuinness has returned to his club after sustaining an injury in training earlier in the week and didn't fly to Athens. No replacement has been called in so Ireland will operate on a 22-man squad tomorrow.
Republic of Ireland Head Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson said, “I hope so but I really don’t care if we are easy to analyse or if we are difficult to play against.
“I said that about Finland. Finland is a pretty easy team to analyse. They are consistent in what they are doing; they are just good at it and that is why they are difficult to play against.
"I want us to be; I would like us to be a team like that, that people hate to play against.”
Republic of Ireland midfielder Josh Cullen added, “A win always lifts morale. It helps with the mood around the camp, of course. But we've got another game to focus on tomorrow night quickly after the game on Thursday.
“Our attention turns to the game tomorrow. It’s a tough game that we’ve had to prepare for really quickly.
“No one likes losing games and everyone wants to be a winner, and we’ve got a squad full—staff included—of people who want to win games.
“But the way you win games is in details and a lot of smaller parts that you have to make sure you get right to earn the right to win games. We did that on Thursday. We know we have to prepare right and be ready to go."
Republic of Ireland Squad: Greece
Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth), Max O'Leary (Bristol City)
Defenders: Festy Ebosele (Watford, on loan from Udinese), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town), Liam Scales (Celtic), Robbie Brady (Preston North End).
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Jamie McGrath (Aberdeen).
Forwards: Adam Idah (Celtic), Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town), Kasey McAteer (Leicester City), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Mikey Johnston (West Bromwich Albion), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar).
Match Details
Fixture: Greece v Ireland
Competition: UEFA Nations League
Date: Sunday, October 13
Kick-off: 7.45pm (9.45pm local time)
Location: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Athens
Match Officials
Referee: Joey Kooji (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Joost van Zullen (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Patrick Inia (NED)
Fourth Official: Jannick van der Laan (NED)
Video Assistant Referee: Clay Ruperti (NED)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Jeroen Manschot (NED)
UEFA Nations League: Result/Fixture
10/10 - Finland 1-2 Ireland, Olympic Stadium, Helsinki
13/10 - Greece vs. Ireland, Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Athens, 7.45pm (9.45pm local time)
