Nations League: Greece v Republic of Ireland, Karaiskakis Stadium, Athens, Sunday, 7.45pm – live on RTÉ Two
Warning: recent history demands a cautious, calculated approach from the Republic of Ireland.
Beating Finland on Thursday could prove a false dawn as Greece in Athens brings bad memories for a mildly rejuvenated Irish team, now guided by Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrímsson.
It is early days, but Hallgrímsson appears pragmatic and lucky in equal measure as his flexible approach yielded a 2-1 win in Helsinki.
Defeat to Greece in June 2023 proved that Stephen Kenny’s days as the national manager were numbered. Tactically exposed and outclassed in individual duels, the Greeks swept past Ireland before repeating the punishment with successive 2-0 wins in Dublin.
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Sixteen months on, there is the small mercy of a venue switch as the Karaiskakis Stadium, where Olympiacos play, replaces the Opap Arena, where hundreds of Irish fans complained of dangerous security measures when entering the home of AEK Athens.
Greece have recovered from missing Euro 2024, after losing a play-off to Georgia on penalties, by beating England at Wembley this week, when a second Vangelis Pavlidis goal erased Jude Bellingham’s 87th-minute equaliser.
In Helsinki the everlasting, irreplaceable left foot of Robbie Brady papered over familiar Irish deficiencies with Hallgrímsson confirming as much in the early hours of Friday morning.
“At times we looked open and indecisive,” he said. “We just need to continue being confident.”
Easier said than done, especially against opponents who are understandably convinced of their superiority as a football nation.
Brady’s importance to the cause cannot be overstated. His arcing delivery for Liam Scales’s headed equaliser, after Joel Pohjanpalo scored off an error by Nathan Collins, cannot be replicated by any of his team-mates.
If not for several career-stalling injuries, the 32-year-old would have more than 100 caps as opposed to 67, which is still 30 more than the next most experienced Irish player, Josh Cullen.
“You always need experience and every team needs characters and leaders,” said Hallgrímsson. “Robbie has so many attributes and he is still a really good player.”
Collins apologised to team-mates in the dressing-room for gifting Finland the lead. Ireland’s only guaranteed starter in the Premier League this season, having established himself at Brentford, the 23-year-old is prone to the odd lapse in concentration but it would seem counterproductive to remove the captain’s armband from him.
A positive addition to the team was Festy Ebosele, who replaced the injured Chiedozie Ogbene in Helsinki to provide a pinpoint cross for Brady’s winner.
If Ebosele is rewarded with a start, he will probably avoid having to shadow Kostas Tsimikas, as the Liverpool left back missed Greece’s first ever win over England with an illness.
Concerns remain around Finn Azaz. An attacking midfielder for Middlesbrough in the second tier of English football, his ponderous play against Finland suggests that the manager might turn to Aberdeen’s Jamie McGrath or Troy Parrott.
“Finn has been playing really well with Middlesbrough, in a role probably that we needed,” Hallgrímsson countered. “He is the guy that can have the final pass, seeing the runs.
“We had some really good runs in behind against Greece at home but we didn’t see these runs and use them. He’s a clever guy on the ball, that was the thought process, to have a player a little bit deeper than Evan [Ferguson], to find these runs.”
Azaz may or may not be of international standard, but no such worry surrounds Sammie Szmodics as a densely populated Irish midfield squeezed the Ipswich Town attacker into tight corridors, where he still looked a class apart.
Finding a system that allows Szmodics and Ferguson to dovetail in attack, while unburdening them of defensive duties, is key to Ireland chiselling out a point on Sunday evening.
“Evan’s a different kind [of forward]. We have a lot of runners and he is so good on the ball. At his feet, he doesn’t need much time in the box to finish and when he is 100 per cent fit he will be lethal for us.”
After few minutes for club or country since April due to injury, can Ferguson go again? “He says so, at least.”
Other than Gibraltar, the win against Finland was Ireland’s first competitive away win since Luxembourg in November 2021, but Hallgrímsson was unmoved by the suggestion of an upturn in fortunes. Greece are precisely what he intends to transform Ireland into; a settled, experienced side with individuals playing above themselves, inspired rather than weighed down by the green jersey.
“The confidence grows when you know the player next to you. He knows exactly how you will react and he will cover whatever decision you make, we just have to execute a little bit quicker than we are doing.
“Indecisiveness,” Hallgrímsson continued, “they were not pressing when they should be pressing, they were not taking the decision and going for it”.
“That is something we need to improve, the same when we are attacking. We got into good positions but didn’t finish, so it looked like we didn’t believe in what we were doing.
“The second half was totally different, we were much more direct and it resulted in more goal-scoring chances and shots on goal.”
Ireland (possible): Kelleher (Liverpool); O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Collins (Brentford), Scales (Celtic), Brady (Preston); Cullen (Burnley), Knight (Bristol City); Ebosele (Watford), McGrath (Aberdeen), Szmodics (Ipswich Town); Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion).
