Nations League | League B

Nov 14, 2024 at 7.45pm UK

Aviva Stadium

Rep. Irelandvs.Finland

Match preview

Since Icelandic head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson took over, the Republic of Ireland have won one and lost three of their first four Nations League matches. Their only win was against Finland in the reverse fixture.

The Irish team were hoping to build on their win in Helsinki with another victory over Greece. However, they were beaten 2-0 in Athens by the League B Group 2 leaders. This result leaves them in third place in the current standings, which puts them in danger of being relegated to League C.

Ireland will avoid an automatic demotion from League B if they secure at least a point against Finland on Thursday. However, a likely third-placed finish will force them to enter the relegation playoffs next year. They're currently six points behind second-placed England with just two games left to play. They're up against the Three Lions at Wembley on Sunday.

Ireland are currently ranked 63rd in the world by FIFA, so they really need to up their game in the final third on home soil if they want to win on Thursday. They haven't scored in eight of their last 10 Nations League home matches, losing five of them.

Meanwhile, Finland have scored in six of their previous 11 Nations League away games. One of these was a narrow 1-0 win against Ireland in September 2020, when both teams were in League B.

Markku Kanerva has been in charge of Finland since December 2016, but 2024 has been a bit of a disappointment. His team have won one, drawn one and lost six of their eight fixtures in all competitions, conceding at least two goals in seven of those matches.

Finland is in serious danger of being relegated after losing all four of its matches in Group 2. It has to beat the Republic of Ireland on Thursday if it wants to avoid being demoted to League C.

Finland are currently ranked 66th in the world by FIFA, just three places below the Republic of Ireland. They're travelling to Dublin on Thursday, where they'll be looking to avoid losing five consecutive games in a row for the first time since October 1994.

Recent Performance

Republic of Ireland Nations League form:LLWL

Republic of Ireland form (all competitions):WLLLWL

Finland Nations League form:LLLL

Finland form (all competitions):LDLLLL

Team News

The Republic of Ireland will be without captain Seamus Coleman, Shane Duffy and Adam Idah this month as they've all withdrawn from the squad due to injury. Robbie Brady and Chiedozie Ogbene are also out.

As a result, Premier League trio Matt Doherty, Jake O'Brien and Ryan Manning have all been called up, and the defensive trio are in contention to start at right-back, centre-back and left-back respectively.

It looks like Josh Cullen and Jason Knight will keep their spots in centre midfield, while Troy Parrott, Sammie Szmodics and Mikey Johnston will all be trying to get a start in the final third with central striker Evan Ferguson.

In other news, Fredrik Jensen, Adam Stahl, Tomas Galvez, Leo Vaisanen, Leo Walta and Topi Keskinen have all been left out of Kanerva's squad after featuring in last month's senior setup.

Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky is just four caps away from reaching 100 for his country and is expected to start between the sticks. Teemu Pukki, who has scored 42 goals for Finland, is hoping to force his way into the first XI. He has started as a substitute in all four Nations League fixtures.

However, it looks like Benjamin Kallman or Joel Pohjanpalo – who scored against Ireland last month – will start as the central striker, while Glen Kamara and Rasmus Schuller are both set to play in centre midfield.

Possible starting lineup

Republic of Ireland possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; O'Shea, Collins, Scales, Manning; Cullen, Knight; Johnston, Szmodics; Parrott, Ferguson

Finland possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Schuller, Pelota, Kamara; Antman, Pohjanpalo, Lod