THE REPUBLIC OF Ireland arrived in Greece with their confidence renewed and spirits lifted.
But it is a precarious kind of positivity.
Thursday’s comeback win over Finland in Helsinki provided a surge of exhilaration given the nature of Robbie Brady’s late winner.
However, Heimir Hallgrímsson still has questions he needs answered. The Ireland manager has already started 18 different players in his three Nations League games in charge – a figure he says is “much higher than I’d want” – and not something he will continue with beyond the culmination of the Nations League group phase next month.
Hallgrímsson’s preference is to choose from a core of up to 15 in the squad going forward, but there is constant assessment.
“You are always looking for someone that is better than the ones who are playing. You are always looking,” he said.
And when he began planning this week on the road, which concludes against Group 2 leaders Greece this evening, just south of Athens in Piraeus, Hallgrímsson spoke with his staff and players about what they aimed to achieve between now and the end of the League B campaign next month.
The 2026 World Cup is the target, with qualifiers next year, as well as a likely Nations League play-off in March.
Nothing is yet certain in terms of group standings, of course, given Finland come to Dublin on 14 November before an away trip to England at Wembley three days later, but those three points in Helsinki could be as pivotal as they felt precious in terms of avoiding automatic relegation from League B.
Should Ireland secure third spot in this group than that play-off against one of the sides that finishes second in League C. Those four groups remain in the balance.
With that in mind, and Hallgrímsson continually citing the need for his players to be more decisive in their actions, the level of performance must improve on Helsinki.
“It’s not about where we finish here, it’s about growing. We could have a perfect game and still lose to a team like Greece. You need to be realistic,” he said. “So that is a scary thought, them starting on the front-foot and we don’t.”
Hallgrímsson grabbed attention yesterday when he spoke alongside midfielder Josh Cullen and said he wanted Ireland to become a team opponents “hate” to play against.
“These times will show you who is a real character and who is not. Normally the characters will step up in hard times, and they did [against Finland]. There were players that stepped up in the second half last game, so I got to know some of them,” he later elaborated.
“Getting to know them as characters, there’s a lot of fighters, we just need to bring that confidence back so that will shine through every game and every duel we have on the pitch, to get this mentality to shine.”
Aron Gunnarsson was Hallgrímsson’s captain with Iceland and he name-checked him as a prime example. “He is the type of guy who steps up in all situations, a warrior. I would always use him as a role model; a player who was always important to the team, maybe not the best footballer, but he was always the most important to the team.
“I am looking for characters like that. Technical ability as well, but someone who steps up in times of trouble. You can look at him and he will rise and say, ‘Give it to me, I am not afraid’. In hard times you need guys like this. We have a lot of those guys, we just need to bring their confidence up.”
It was impossible not to think of Cullen in this scenario.
He may have been handed his debut under Mick McCarthy but he was a cornerstone, a symbol of the Stephen Kenny era. Now he has a new international boss to convince that he shares those same traits as Gunnarsson. The Burnley midfielder has had to do the same at club level, where Scott Parker replaced Vincent Kompany over the summer.
For Ireland, you have to go back to when McCarthy was in charge in 2019 the last time they won back-to-back competitive fixtures- Gibraltar and Georgia being the opponents. That was 38 games ago, so if Hallgrímsson can achieve that by just the fourth at the helm it would be a seriously impressive feat.
“A lot of people will assume we’re talking about [hating] us out of possession, fighting and being horrible in that, but also in possession,” Cullen said. “Making it hard for them. Trust me, as a player that there’s nothing worse with not having the ball during the game, feeling you’re constantly under threat when the opposition has it.
“It’s in all aspects of the game, in and out of possession. Our mentality from minute one is that the opposition know this is a serious game and a team that’ll come at them 100% going for the win. When you’re up against a team like that, you feel it as a player. That’s where we want to be as a team.”
Greece, currently, are further ahead in their growth and that win over England has them believing they can reach a first major tournament in 10 years, when they qualified for the 2014 World Cup.
Like Ireland, they appointed a new manager ahead of the Nations League after Gus Poyet didn’t have his contract renewed. Serbian Ivan Jovanović picked up from where his predecessor left off, though, winning in Dublin last month to make it three wins against the Boys in Green over the last 18 months.
A 2-1 defeat in Euro 2024 qualifying in June 2023 signalled the end of Kenny’s era. A similar result won’t do anywhere near the same kind of damage for Hallgrímsson, and a coherent, impressive performance will only serve to reinforce confidence and belief in his methods.
Greece, of course, are reeling from the tragic death of George Baldock. Jovanović spoke about the emotions his players are feeling and also how their performances are giving reason for Greek fans to reconnect with the team as it is one that needs to “represent” the people of the country.
They are dreaming of qualifying for a major tournament because they sense it is finally within reach.
It is a more distant dream for Ireland, unless Hallgrímsson’s gameplan delivers and his players come to the fore.
All of a sudden the optimism won’t feel so brittle.
