The boys in green travel to Athens looking for second Nations League win – The Irish Times

The first 45 minutes were all about defense for Ireland.

Greece shows that its victory over England on Thursday was anything but a fluke. They are in flight form.

Liverpool's Caoimhín Kelleher is making a major change.

HALFTIME: GREECE 0 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 0

45th minute: Yellow card for Greece's Giannoulis for holding Ogbene.

Robbie Brady's Irish free kick goes high, but goalkeeper Vlachodimos gets under it.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

44th minute: A move by Josh Cullen against Siopis leads to a free kick for Greece. That doesn't help, so Cullen is rattled in that regard.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

39th minute: Ogbene makes a good run down the wing and beats a Greek defender, but he is isolated.

He turns inside to make the cross, but it is deflected by Hatzidiakos and goes to the corner.

Troy Parrott does well to keep the ensuing corner in play at the left post, but the Greek defense manages to clear it all the way to the back line.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

29th minute: Cross finds Tzolis, who turns on the spot and passes to Giannoulis. He takes the shot, but Kelleher parries the home team again.

The evacuation attempt doesn't go far and Greece attacks again. It's Giannoulis again, this time with a hanging cross into the penalty area that Kelleher deflects.

The pressure from Greece is relentless.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

25th minute: Pavlidis tries a shot from the left wing, but Nathan Collins comes to the block.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

20th minute: Caoimhín Kelleher has a busy start to the game. Vangelis Pavlidis comes towards goal, but Kelleher blocks his shot.

Greece is increasing the pressure on the Irish side.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

17th minute: Another chance for Greece. Christos Tzolis crosses into the penalty area and finds Giorgos Masouras. He doesn't get the header through and the ball goes to the left for a goal kick.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

10 minutes: Great save from Kelleher. Greece is on the trigger, but Kelleher is under pressure and sees a Greek shot left of the post that leads to a corner.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

Early chance for Ireland. Troy Parrott finds Evan Ferguson, but a jab in the back unnerves him. However, the referee didn't understand.

Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0

And we're at the Karaiskakis Stadium.

Both pairs of players are wearing black armbands as a tribute to Greek defender George Baldock, who was found dead in his home in Athens on Wednesday at the age of 31.

Five minute warning!

So what is our record against Greece?

Our last four meetings have been in favor of Greece, the last being the 2-0 win at Aviva last month in the first leg of this encounter.

Ireland managed a nil draw in Athens in 2002 and that was the highlight.

Elsewhere in Group 2, Finland hosted England earlier in the game. England wins 3-1.

Jack Grealish and Declan Rice once again scored both goals for Lee Carsley's side, this time Trent Alexander-Arnold also got on the scoresheet.

Arttu Hoskonen mitigated the setback with a goal for Finland in the 87th minute.

In the table, England is now level with Greece on nine points. Ireland is in third place with three points, while Finland is in last place with no point.

Is anyone confused about what this game means in the bigger picture? Don’t worry, welcome to Nations League 101…

The Nations League is linked to qualification for the European Championship finals, so theoretically a place at the 2028 European Championship is up for grabs.

However, to secure this place in our own team – we are co-hosts of Euro 2028 – we need to win League B this way, which would initially mean leaving our group (that is Group 2 with England). , Finland and Greece).

In our three games so far, Ireland have suffered two defeats and one win.

But it's not just about the euro. Where we place also determines which league we will play in next time. In League B, the team that finishes first in the group is promoted to League A, and the second-placed team then plays against the third-placed teams in League A for a chance of promotion as well.

The third-placed team in League B goes into the playoffs against the second-placed team in League C, where an aggregate defeat would see them relegated to the lower league, while the fourth-placed team in League B would be relegated directly to League C.

While we wait for kick-off, read the reports from Thursday evening's games again:

( Robbie Brady rolls back the years as Ireland finally celebrate victory in HelsinkiOpens in new window )

( England's exciting side descends into chaos for Carsley as Greece record a historic winOpens in new window )

Messages from Gavin confirming starters.

GREECE: Vlachodimos (Newcastle United); Rota (AEK Athens), Mavropanos (West Ham United), Hatzidiakos (FC Copenhagen), Giannoulis (Augsburg); Kourbelis (Al-Khaleej), Siopis (Cardiff City); Masouras (Olympiacos), Bakasetas (Panathinaikos), Tzolis (Club Brugge); Pavlidis (Benfica).

IRELAND: Kelleher (Liverpool); O'Shea (Ipswich Town), Collins (Brentford), Scales (Celtic), Brady (Preston North End); Ogbene (Ipswich City), Cullen (Burnley), Knight (Bristol City), Szmodics (Ipswich City); Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion).

And our referee for this evening is Joey Kooij from the Netherlands.

And here is Ireland's star team.

Essentially unchanged from Thursday, except for Troy Parrott substituting for Finn Azaz.

Good evening and welcome to the Irish Times live blog of Greece v Republic of Ireland. Muireann Duffy here to guide you through the action.

Gavin Cummiskey is our man on the ground in Athens and he hasn't let the feel-good factor of Ireland's win over Finland cloud his judgement.

“Caution: Recent history demands a cautious, calculated approach from the Republic of Ireland,” he writes, adding that Thursday’s victory “could prove to be a false dawn as Greece in Athens brings back bad memories for a slightly rejuvenated Irish side “.

Read his full preview of the game below:

( Greece vs Ireland preview: Hallgrímsson needs a calculated approach to banish bad Irish memories of AthensOpens in new window )

The Republic of Ireland will face Greece in the UEFA Nations League in Athens. The game kicks off at 7:45pm Irish time and will be broadcast live on RTÉ2.

Both teams enter the game with away wins earlier this week.

Ireland won against Finland in Helsinki on Thursday. A Robbie Brady goal made it 2-1 for the visitors at the final whistle, giving Heimir Hallgrímsson his first win as Republic of Ireland manager. Meanwhile, at Wembley Stadium in London, the Greeks pulled off a major upset by defeating England, also finishing 2-1.

Greece now sit at the top of Group 2 of League B with nine points, while Ireland are back in third place behind England on three points.

Follow all the news before kick-off and live updates during the game.