What’s the situation?
This week sees two Uefa Nations League matches featuring the Republic of Ireland as they progress with their Group 2 battles in League B.
What are the fixtures and locations?
Their first assignment necessitates a journey to Helsinki, where they’ll compete with Finland at the Olympic Stadium on Thursday, with play commencing at 7.45pm according to Irish timing. The subsequent match takes them to Athens to face Greece at the Karaiskakis Stadium, the Olympiacos base, on Sunday; kick-off again occurring at 7.45pm Irish time.
Why is there importance attached to these matches?
Of what significance are these games then? The key is their connection with the qualifiers for the European Championship finals; theoretically, a position in Euro 2028 is at stake.
But to secure a place at our own celebration – do note that we are co-hosts of Euro 2028 – we have to be victorious in League B through this pathway, which initially necessitates leaving our group.
Our current status is slightly less promising, considering our two group stage defeat from two games (2-0 losses to both England and Greece the previous month). Thus, the likelihood of reversing our fortunes in time for a Euro summer appears slim.
However, the focus isn’t solely on the Euros. Our positioning also decides which rank of the league we will participate in next time. If we finish first in our group in League B, promotion to League A will occur. Taking second place also ensures the opportunity to compete with the third-rated teams from League A for the chance of escalation.
The team concluding in third place in League B faces the second best of League C in the playoffs, carrying the risk of demotion to a lower rank with an aggregate loss, whereas the fourth-place finisher in League B is directly relegated to League C.
This may be a rather complicated league arrangement, but it’s the one we deal with.
What’s the outlook for Ireland?
If put delicately, Ireland’s prospects have been better in the past.
So far, Hallgrímsson hasn’t managed to secure a satisfactory outcome from the first two matches. Understandably, debuting against England wasn’t the easiest of starts, and Ireland’s performance in their game versus Greece left much room for improvement.
As pointed out by Gavin Cummiskey in his post-game analysis, the Republic of Ireland seem to have forgotten how to win at international football. Despite this, James McDermott attempted to instil some hope in his recent article. According to him, the Irish supporters who have been eagerly awaiting a qualifying win since 2016 should console themselves with the thought that their situation could be much worse, referring to Finland’s struggle taking 82 years and 33 attempts to qualify for their first and to date, only major championship at Euro 2020.
Where to watch the upcoming games is the next question. The encounter between Ireland and Finland, scheduled for Thursday at 7.45 pm Irish time, will be broadcast live on RTÉ2 from 7 pm. Likewise, their game against Greece on Sunday at the same time will also be aired live on RTÉ2 with coverage starting at 7 pm.
As for the expected weather conditions; a windy and cloudy atmosphere is forecasted in Helsinki on Thursday with temperatures hovering around 10 degrees. Meanwhile, Athens’ weather on Sunday evening is predicted to be clear and dry, with the thermometer marked around 18 degrees.