Republic of Ireland vs Greece

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B enters the crunch period as the Republic of Ireland and Greece go head-to-head at the Aviva Stadium.

The Republic of Ireland’s hopes of claiming only their fourth European Championship appearance in history are in tatters after a 2-1 home loss to the Netherlands last time out left them six points adrift of the Group B leading duo. Except for a 3-0 home triumph over continental whipping boys Gibraltar, the ‘Boys in Green’ have lost all four Euro 2024 qualifiers, so it’s hardly a surprise that manager Stephen Kenny’s expectations are low coming into this meeting. Ireland slipped to a stomach-wrenching 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture, extending their winless H2H run against Greece to four matches (D1, L3). If it’s any consolation, they at least got on the scoresheet after drawing a blank in their three previous H2Hs.

Meanwhile, visiting Greece will be keen to take advantage of Ireland’s indifferent six-game form on home soil (W3, L3) as they bid to build on a 5-0 thumping of Gibraltar and keep their hopes of reaching their first Euro finals since 2012. Despite commencing this round level on points with the second-placed Dutch, Ronald Koeman’s men have a game in hand, leaving Greece with almost no room for error. With ominous-looking matches against France and the Netherlands waiting in the wings, anything other than three points in Dublin would probably end Greece’s hopes of qualifying for next summer’s tournament. However, Gus Poyet’s men have struggled on the road, picking up just two wins across their last seven away Euro qualifiers (D1, L4), casting doubt on their effort to maintain a 100% win ratio in Dublin.