Republic of Ireland lose 2-0 to Greece in Athens: As it happened

FT: Greece 2 Republic of Ireland 0
So as Looney Tunes put it: That’s all folks!
Thanks for the company, just a pity about the result.
Ireland’s men have a bit of a break now, their next two fixtures coming in a month’s time (Finland at the Aviva on November 14th before a trip to Wembley to play on November 17th).
But not to worry. The Girls in Green are in action against Georgia in two weeks’ time attempting to earn a spot Euro 2025.
Until then, goodnight.
Gavin Cummiskey’s report from Athens is in.
“It is now beyond reasonable doubt that Greece are better at football than the Republic of Ireland,” he writes from the Karaiskakis Stadium.
“For 360 minutes, since June 2023, they have had their number across four competitive matches by an aggregate score of 8-1.”
Read his full report below.
[ Greece continue to hold upper hand over Ireland as they capitalise on mistakesOpens in new window ]
FT: Greece 2 Republic of Ireland 0
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has also been speaking to RTÉ.
Asked of Ireland’s improvement in the second half, he said: “It kinds of feels like once we concede the goal, the pressure is kind of gone so we start to have more belief in what we are doing. It was the same against Finland.”
Hallgrímsson said his players “defended heroically” in the opening half, but added: “We know we can do better. We saw that in the second half, we can do better.”
The win restores Greece’s three-point lead at the top of the League B Group 2 table.
They’re now on 12 points and England are second on nine points after their 3-1 win over Finland earlier this evening.
Ireland remain in third on three points, above the Finns on zero.
FT: Greece 2 Republic of Ireland 0
Ireland midfielder Josh Cullen has been speaking to RTÉ after the result.
“After them scoring so early in the second half, I thought from that point on we were the team that definitely looked more likely. I think we got more control in the game. I don’t think the first half was good enough from us but we tweaked a couple of things at half-time.
“It’s just disappointing to concede so soon after half-time, but I think the boys showed good courage and bravery to sort of come back and lift the performance again, but it wasn’t quite enough in the end.”
On conceding so soon after the break, Cullen added: “It’s a trend that we need to try and get rid of soon because we come out, every intention to start the second half on the front foot and maybe by doing that we sort of lose our shape a little bit and open some gaps for the opposition.
“It’s something we need to look at but it happens and I think the reaction was good. We just have to take the positives and move on.”
FT: Greece 2 Republic of Ireland 0
A disappointing result for Ireland.
A lacklustre first half from the visitors, with Caoimhín Kelleher’s heroics offering the only upside.
After the break, Ireland played with more composure to threaten the Greek goal but ultimately their finishing let them down.
The late goal was a sickener, especially given Kelleher’s superb effort over the 90 minutes.
FULL-TIME: GREECE 2 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 0
91 mins: GOAL FOR GREECE.
Uncharacteristic mistake from Caoimhín Kelleher ends in a goal for Mantalos.
Greece 2 Republic of Ireland 0
86 mins: Back into the corner for Ireland. Brady sends it in for Taylor to make the shot, but it’s blocked.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
82 mins: Ireland putting some nice plays together but they can’t make them stick.
More subs. Greece bring in Tsimikas and Mantalos in place of Kourbelis and Tzolis, McAteer comes in for Ireland in the place of O’Shea.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
79 mins: Ebosele draws the corner. Brady’s up to take it.
Nathan Collins has words with the referee as they set up in the box. Brady’s corner ultimately causes Greece little concern.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
72 mins: Substitutions for Greece. Douvikas on for Bakasetas, Zafeiris on for Pavlidis.
For Ireland, Molumby comes in for Knight and Johnston is in for Szmodics.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
68 mins: Cullen makes a beautiful cross in to find Taylor for the header but Vlachodimos gets his fingertips to it to send it over the crossbar.
Yellow card for Greece’s Kourbelis.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
64 mins: Ireland are getting sloppy. Robbie Brady needlessly lobs his clearance out over the line.
Greece substitution – Pelkas on for Masouras.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
60 mins: Ireland playing with a bit more verve in the last few minutes but they need to make it count.
Ebosele moving the ball in but is dispossessed. Too easy for Greece.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
56 mins: Robbie Brady cross again goes for the back post. Vlachodimos gets a hand to it and it’s cleared.
Substitutions for Ireland. Festy Ebosele on for Chiedozie Ogbene, Jack Taylor on for Evan Ferguson.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
48 mins: GOAL FOR GREECE. Bakkasetas finds the net.
The Greece captain finds a way past Kelleher moments after he was denied by the Cork man.
Greece 1 Republic of Ireland 0
Back under way in Athens.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
It’s been all about the defence for Ireland in the opening 45 minutes.
Greece are showing their win over England on Thursday was far from a fluke. They’re in flying form.
Liverpool’s Caoimhín Kelleher is putting in a major shift.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
HALF-TIME: GREECE 0 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 0
45 mins: Yellow cards for Greece’s Giannoulis for holding Ogbene.
Irish free kick from Robbie Brady drops in high, but goalkeeper Vlachodimos gets under it.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
44 mins: A pull by Josh Cullen on Siopis draws a free for Greece. Amounts to nothing, so Cullen’s off the hook for that one.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
39 mins: Ogbene makes a good run up the wing and beats Mavropanos but he’s isolated.
He turns in to make the cross but it deflects off Hatzidiakos to go out for the corner.
Troy Parrott does well to keep the subsequent corner kick in play at the left post, but Greece’s defence manage to make the clearance to the far line.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
29 mins: Cross finds Tzolis who spins on the spot to pass to Giannoulis. He makes the shot but Kelleher again denies the home side.
The clearance attempt doesn’t go far and Greece are back on the attack. It’s Giannoulis again, this time with a hanging cross into the box, which Kelleher fields.
Pressure from Greece is relentless.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
25 mins: Pavlidis attempts the shot off the left wing but Nathan Collins gets in for the block.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
20 mins: Caoimhín Kelleher having a busy start to the game. Vangelis Pavlidis gets in on goal, but Kelleher blocks his shot.
Greece piling on the pressure at the Irish end.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
17 mins: Another chance for Greece. Christos Tzolis crosses into the box to find Giorgos Masouras. He doesn’t get power into the header through, and it’s off to the left for a goal kick.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
10 mins: Great save from Kelleher. Greece are on the push but Kelleher is solid under pressure, seeing a Greek shot left of the post and out for a corner.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
Early chance for Ireland. Troy Parrott finds Evan Ferguson but a push in the back throws him off his stride. No sympathy from the referee however.
Greece 0 Republic of Ireland 0
And we’re under way at Karaiskakis Stadium.
In tribute to Greece defender George Baldock, who was found dead at his home in Athens on Wednesday aged 31, both sets of players are wearing black armbands.
Five minute warning!
So, what’s our record against Greece?
Our last four encounters went Greece’s way, the most recent being their 2-0 victory at the Aviva last month in the first leg of this fixture.
Ireland managed a nil-all draw in Athens back in 2002, and that’s the height of it.
Elsewhere in Group 2, Finland played host to England in the earlier kick-off. England taking a 3-1 win.
Jack Grealish and Declan Rice again both netted for Lee Carsley’s side, joined on the score sheet on this occasion by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Arttu Hoskonen softened the blow with a goal for Finland in the 87th minute.
In table terms, England are now level with Greece on nine points. Ireland is third on three points, leaving Finland last with no point to their credit.
Anyone confused about what this game matters in the grander scheme of things? No worries, welcome to Nations League 101…
The Nations League is linked to qualification for the European Championship finals, so a spot at Euro 2028 is theoretically up for grabs.
However, to earn that spot at our own party – we’re joint hosts of Euro 2028 remember – via this route we need to win League B, which would first involve us having to get out of our group (that’s Group 2, with England, Finland and Greece).
From our three games thus far, Ireland have taken two losses and a win.
But it’s not all about the Euros. Where we place also determines which tier of the league we’ll play in next time around. In League B, a top-place group finish sees the team promoted to League A, and second goes on to play the third-ranked teams from League A for a chance at promotion too.
The third-placed team in League B goes to the playoffs against the second finishers from League C, in which an aggregate loss would see them relegated to the lower tier, while the fourth-place League B finisher gets relegated straight down to League C.
While we wait for kick-off, have a read back over the reports from Thursday night’s games:
[ Robbie Brady rolls back the years as Ireland finally taste victory in HelsinkiOpens in new window ]
[ England’s exciting team turn into a mess for Carsley as Greece record historic winOpens in new window ]
Dispatches from Gavin to confirm the 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 Town), Cullen (Burnley), Knight (Bristol City), Szmodics (Ipswich Town); Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion).
And our referee for the evening is Joey Kooij of the Netherlands.
And here’s Ireland’s staring team.
Mainly unchanged from Thursday except Troy Parrott is in for Finn Azaz.
Good evening and welcome to The Irish Times’ live blog for Greece v the Republic of Ireland. Muireann Duffy here to take 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 judgment.
“Warning: recent history demands a cautious, calculated approach from the Republic of Ireland,” he writes, adding Thursday’s victory “could prove a false dawn as Greece in Athens brings bad memories for a mildly rejuvenated Irish team”.
Read his full preview of the game below:
[ Greece v Ireland preview: Hallgrímsson needs a calculated approach to banish bad Irish memories of AthensOpens in new window ]
The Republic of Ireland are in Athens to face Greece in the Uefa Nations League. The game kicks off at 7.45pm Irish time and will be televised live on RTÉ2.
Both sides are coming into the game on the back of away wins earlier this week.
Ireland’s victory came in Helsinki against Finland on Thursday, with a goal from Robbie Brady making it 2-1 for the visitor’s minutes from 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 huge upset to beat England, also ending 2-1.
Greece now sit top of the League B Group 2 table on nine points, while Ireland are back in third, behind England, on three points.
Follow along for all the news in advance of kick-off and live updates throughout the game.