Also they will be fresh from a high-octane victory against England and Greece’s next UEFA Nations League fixture is against the Republic of Ireland at home on Sunday.
Two days after pulling one over Scotland, the Republic of Ireland turned in a commendable performance, triumphing 2-1 against Finland after being down 0-1 in League B Group 2.
Match preview
At Stadion Wembley on Thursday, the Greek players ambitiously dedicated their victory over the Three Lions to the late George Baldock, former national player and Sheffield United right-back who died tragically a day prior. It apparently called it a touching tribute; UEFA turned down Greece’s insistence for postponement, and the visiting side played to the memory of their compatriot with a brilliant performance.
Greece snatched the lead again courtesy of a goal on either side of a Jude Bellingham equalizer from Vangelis Pavlidis, keeping them at the head of Group B in the 2024-25 Nations League with a flawless start in the competition that included defeating Finland and defeating their next opponents within the prior month, with now three consecutive victories.
With the hope of promotion to League A, Greece showed they are third time was a charm, having risen out of League C just a few years ago. The Greeks, under new coach Ivan Jovanovic, have won four matches in a row, including a friendly against Malta in June. A win on Sunday will be their fifth in a row and such would be a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2016.
Ireland goes into this match with the momentum of having suddenly stabilized themselves after their first two defeats. The Irish got this victory partly in a highly unlikely comeback with a one-goal deficit before Joel Pohjanpalo put away the opening score in Finland and was then equalized by Liam Scales with Robbie Brady sticking one in to achieve two goals to one in support of a magnificent win for coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.
However, away wins in the Nations League have rarely been achieved by Ireland. Their victory over Finland was actually their first victory outside Quebec during the last competition. This meant they stood third on League B Group 2 and could contend for promotion and relegation in early-2025 playoffs.
Ireland will look to erase their recent past result where they lost 2-0 to Greece in Dublin just over a month ago. In the past, the Boys in Green have found Greece a difficult opponent, losing five and drawing once in their last six encounters and scoring one goal during those matches.
Sunday’s encounter in Piraeus will serve as a yardstick for both teams as they seek to extend their recent victories and hope for success inside the Nations League.
Greece Nations League Form:
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Greece Form (All Competitions):
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Republic of Ireland Nations League Form:
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Republic of Ireland Form (All Competitions):
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TEAM NEWS
Greece head coach Ivan Jovanovic will make the necessary defensive adjustment ahead of Sunday’s encounter, owing to the suspension of central defender Konstantinos Koulierakis, who, once again, provided assistance for Pavlidis’s first goal against England this time for the second yellow of the tournament.
While Pantelis Hatzidiakos and Panagiotis Retsos are both candidates for taking on the Koulierakis absence, the status of Liverpool left-back Kostas Tsimikas remains a question mark since he missed the last game against Finland due to illness.
Ideally, Jovanovic would like to field the same eleven as on that occasion against England, but exhaustion could shuffle things around, potentially slotting in either Dimitrios Pelkas or Petros Mantalos in the frontline.
Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson faced life without Cardiff City defender Callum O’Dowda, who was injured before their win over Finland. Other than that, the squad is in good shape for the trip to Piraeus.
Hallgrimsson will make four changes to the squad which lost to Greece in their last encounter, bringing Brighton’s Evan Ferguson into the squad-since–his time recovering after a career dip. Although Ferguson had one taken off early for offside, he barely made it through the 90 minutes, with chances hardly created. Which leaves Adam Idah and Troy Parrott to take the alternate route for the starting tomorrow.
Greece possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Retsos, Giannoulis; Kourbelis, Siopis; Masouras, Bakasetas, Tzolis; Pavlidis
Republic of Ireland possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; O’Shea, Collins, Scales, Brady; Cullen, Knight; Ogbene, Azaz, Szmodics; Ferguson
