Ireland entertain Greece in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on Friday evening
Ireland entertain Greece in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on Friday evening
The Republic of Ireland entertain Greece in their sixth Euro 2024 qualifier on Friday evening and as such, now is a great time to register a new account with any of our featured Irish betting sites where you can claim a wealth of exclusive Ireland free bets ahead of what promises to be a thoroughly entertaining affair.
Kick-off: 7.45pm UK Time, Friday 13th October 2023
The Republic of Ireland sit six points behind Friday-evening opponents Greece in the Group B table, the latter at the very least guaranteed a play-off place in their battle to reach next summer’s European Championships in Germany.
Of all the sides in Group B, only minnows Gibraltar have fallen to the Republic of Ireland since the start of the qualifying campaign and while the Boys in Green can mathematically make it to Germany next summer, realistically they aren’t likely to be participating in the tournament. As things stand, Stephen Kenny’s side sit in fourth position in the group table with a solitary win to their name and while they made it to the Euros in 2012 and 2016 along with a qualification play-off place in 2020 (which they lost), they won’t be handed any second chances this year on account of their disappointing UEFA Nations League finish. Indeed there is every possibility that Ireland’s fate could be sealed in this match and with defeats in all-but-one of their last five matches, we’re not too optimistic about their chances here.
In reality, Ireland were never going to beat France or the Netherlands to the race for an automatic qualification berth but with goals scored in all-but-one of their last fifteen European Championship games on home soil – the exception being a narrow 1-0 defeat to France – the Dublin faithful may well have a glimmer of hope.
Greece will be going all-out to fully extinguish Ireland’s hopes in Dublin this week, while keeping alive their own ambitions of claiming an automatic qualification berth. The Greeks demolished Gibraltar to the tune of 5-0 last month and while they failed to make it into the last two European Championships, there is every chance that they could pip the Netherlands to the post, the two sides sitting level on points ahead of this match.
Greece won promotion in their UEFA Nations League campaign and this ensures them a play-off place at the very least and they will be eager to end a poor run of away form which has seen them win just one of their last six on the road. Nevertheless, the visitors have gone unbeaten in their last four meetings with the Irish and as such, the hosts will need to put to an end their Greek hoodoo in order to be in with a slim chance of making it to the Euros.
Anything other than a win won’t be enough for Ireland here if Netherlands cause an upset in their own match and beat France on the same evening, however for their part we envisage the Boys in Green being held to a draw in the Irish capital on Friday evening. This may or may not send the Irish out of contention but it will almost certainly provide us with a thoroughly entertaining contest.