The Republic of Ireland welcome Finland to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Thursday as both teams enter into their penultimate UEFA Nations League League B Group 2 encounter. We have two teams that are desperately trying to avoid relegation to League C. The sides face each other for the second time in Helsinki, with Ireland winning 2-1 away against the Finns just over a month ago.
Match Preview
The Republic of Ireland, who recently appointed Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, have been in an erratic spell in the Nations League, with one win and three losses thus far. The solitary victory came against Finland last month. While they would have liked to capitalize on that result, a 2-0 defeat against Greece has plunged them to third in the group and in danger of relegation. Ireland need at least a point against Finland to prevent an automatic drop to League C.
Ireland – who are ranked 63rd by FIFA – have been miserable at home, failing to score in eight of their last 10 Nations League appearances at Aviva Stadium, losing five of those.
Finland has meanwhile been having a poor 2024 under the management of longtime head coach Markku Kanerva, with just one win and six losses in their last eight matches. Ranked 66th by FIFA, just behind Ireland, the Eagle-Owls are in danger of being relegated since they have lost four straight matches in Group 2. Finland must win in order to keep their hopes alive of avoiding an automatic drop into League C. The same team has struggled recently, losing 2-1 at home to Ireland and 3-1 to England.
Team News
Republic of Ireland
Out: Captain Seamus Coleman, Shane Duffy, Adam Idah, Robbie Brady, and Chiedozie Ogbene (injuries)
Star Players: Matt Doherty, Jake O’Brien, and Ryan Manning have signed in as replacements.
Predicted Line-up (4-4-2): Kelleher; O’Shea, Collins, Scales, Manning; Cullen, Knight; Johnston, Szmodics; Parrott, Ferguson
Doherty, O’Brien and Manning are primed to come into the back four. Josh Cullen and Jason Knight will probably anchor the midfield, with Troy Parrott, Sammie Szmodics, and Mikey Johnston supporting central striker Evan Ferguson.
Finland
Out: Fredrik Jensen, Adam Stahl, Tomas Galvez, Leo Vaisanen, Leo Walta, Topi Keskinen
Star players: Lukas Hradecky, goalkeeper, nearing 100th cap; Teemu Pukki, all-time Finland top-scorer.
Expected lineup (4-3-3): Hradecky; Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Schuller, Pelota, Kamara; Antman, Pohjanpalo, Lod
Though Teemu Pukki may press his claim, the starting central striker could be either Benjamin Kallman or Joel Pohjanpalo, who netted against the Irish last month. In central midfield, Glen Kamara and Rasmus Schuller may feature.
Prediction: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Finland
This should be a tight and cagey affair, with few goals between two sides battling to avoid the drop to League B. Neither Finland nor Ireland has been prolific in attack, but home advantage could prove crucial for Ireland in edging out Finland like they did in the reverse fixture.
