The late-night kick-off for Sunday’s game against Greece in Piraeus meant there was plenty of time for note swapping with local counterparts, such as the assiduous television commentator who wanted to hear the pronunciations of less familiar Irish players, such as Sammie “Smod-icks”.
Correct. “So, for Smzodics, the z is silent, and where will he play?” Out of position on the left.
There were further inquiries about the positional logic employed by Heimir Hallgrímsson’s improving Ireland team.
“Dara O’Shea at right back, really?” Only when Ireland do not have the ball.
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“And when they do?” Three centre halves – O’Shea, Nathan Collins and Liam Scales – will encourage Robbie Brady and Chiedozie Ogbene to stretch the field – provided Ireland keep possession (which they failed to manage in the opening 45 minutes).
“Two up front?” Partnering Troy Parrott and Evan Ferguson was a new experiment that did not work, although Parrott improved closer to goal when Jack Taylor replaced Ferguson.
“Obviously [Hallgrímsson] knows our strengths,” said O’Shea afterwards, “and he has simplified our game in that we need to get the ball in the opposition half and that’s where we can do our damage. We’ve got some great attacking players who are playing at high levels and we want to give them the ball and let them do their thing.
“We’re a hard-working nation,” added the Ipswich Town defender. “He’s trying to keep that going, drilling it into us and you know the way he wants us to play is different to the way we’ve played in the last couple of years, so obviously it’s going to take time. But we need to get results soon and the Helsinki one was a good result.”
Ireland’s Nations League in October saw them win a game, thanks to Brady’s half-volley, and lose another by allowing an old failing to re-emerge. Since 2021 Ireland have conceded goals from long-range shots in the second-half against Luxembourg, Serbia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Ukraine, France, Portugal and Greece (twice).
“It was Christmas in October again,” said Hallgrímsson. “We’re giving too many gifts.”
“We fought to get back in the games [in Helsinki and Piraeus],” Hallgrímsson said. “Why can’t we just start with that mentality?
“It’s something psychological for sure. I’ve talked a lot about confidence.”
Finland visit Dublin on November 14th looking to overturn the 2-1 defeat they suffered at home last Thursday, with both countries seeking to avoid direct relegation from League B. Third in the group goes into a relegation play-off next March against a second-place finisher from League C. As it stands, that could be Northern Ireland or recent opponents Armenia.
The play-off fixture congestion would probably land Ireland in a four-team World Cup qualifier group as third seeds. Sixteen European teams will qualify, the 12 group winners and four from play-offs in March 2026.
After the latest two weeks of detailed meetings, pitch sessions and the two matches, Hallgrímsson can pick out the “warriors” in his squad.
Collins against Finland and Kelleher against Greece made costly, unforced errors leading to goals. But both of them also made numerous blocks and parries to keep the score down as, overall, there were more positives than negatives for Ireland when compared with recent international windows.
Brady raged against the dying of his injury-cursed career while Festy Ebosele burst on to the scene. Josh Cullen returned to cover every blade of grass in Finland and Greece as Scales transferred his form at Celtic to an Ireland shirt.
Most importantly, Ferguson got minutes in his legs before facing Finland in Dublin. Three days after that, Ireland will complete the campaign at Wembley, where Declan Rice and Jack Grealish will probably continue to feature in a team under the temporary control of Lee Carsley.
“I think that this job deserves a world-class coach who has won trophies,” said Carsley following England’s 3-1 defeat of Finland, effectively ruling himself out of taking the job on a permanent basis. “I am still on the path to that”.
When Greece outplayed his team last Thursday, Carsley even voiced an intention to return to his post as England’s under-21 coach.
As for Hallgrímsson he grabbed his players attention even before this month’s meet-up by dropping Matt Doherty, Alan Browne, Jake O’Brien and Callum Robinson,a nd offering Ebosele and Taylor chances to prove their worth.
Only Brady remains from Ireland’s last major tournament, Euro 2016, with his 68 caps putting him 30 games clear of Cullen, the next most experienced player in the squad.
“All four games he’s been good,” said Hallgrímsson of the 32-year-old who joined Manchester United academy in 2008. “Just a solid performer. He’s with young kids, probably could be father of some of them! He is like one of the guys. Inside the camp he is really important.
“He had two really good performance and hopefully he stays safe, and keeps on playing well for his club and country.”
