What time and TV channel is Ireland v Finland on tonight in the Nations League?
Ireland host Finland in the Nations League tonight with Heimir Hallgrimsson going into his fifth game in charge chasing a first home win.
The Boys in Green came from behind to beat the Finns in Helsinki last month, with Liam Scales cancelling out the hosts’ early opener before Robbie Brady scored a late winner.
A win in Dublin tonight will ensure that Ireland avoid relegation to League C of the Nations League, while Finland have to win to keep alive their slim hopes of avoiding the drop.
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Ireland are guaranteed to finish third in the four-team group if they avoid defeat tonight and that would set up a two-legged Nations League playoff in March.
A draw will take place on November 22 to determine which second-placed League C side Ireland will play in that playoff next year, should they make it.
After tonight’s game, Ireland will prepare for their final Nations League group game away to England on Sunday, with the game kicking off at Wembley at 5pm.
Where is Ireland-Finland on?
The game takes place at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
What time is kick-off?
The game kicks off at 7.45pm.
What TV channel is it on?
The game will not be televised in the UK. For viewers in the Republic of Ireland, the game will be live on RTE 2.
Fans can still watch the game live online via the Viaplay International YouTube channel, while it will also be on the RTE Player for Irish viewers.
Betting Odds
Ireland 4/6, Draw 9/4, Finland 4/1
Team News
Ireland have injury doubts over Festy Ebosele, Dara O’Shea and Andrew Moran who will have to prove their fitness this morning to feature. Seamus Coleman, Shane Duffy and Adam Idah all pulled out injured over the weekend, while Heimir Hallgrimsson was already without Chiedozie Ogbene, Robbie Brady, Gavin Bazunu, Will Smallbone, Andrew Omobamidele, Jamie McGrath and Jack Taylor.
Finland will field a weakened team as Topi Keskinen, Leo Walta and Tomas Galvez have all been left out of the squad so that they can play for the Under-21s in their important Euro 2025 two-legged playoff against Norway, rather than lining out for the seniors in Dublin.
What They Say
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson: ““The Finland game is the more important of these two, given that we are fighting for third place. This camp is probably our last chance to try out things (before the World Cup qualifying campaign), but still we want to play good and keep our consistency. We want to build on our last camp, take a little step because nothing happens quickly. We need to build on what we do well. But we also want to try out players we haven't seen so at least we know about them when it comes to the more important games next year. We’ve been drilling a lot of the basics because the details don't matter if the basics are not done well. That's how we build progress, step by step."
Finland manager Markku Kanerva: “We have to win this game and it’s going to be difficult, for sure. We have to reach our best level to beat Ireland, and hopefully our game-plan will work. They defend really well, so we will need to be patient in possession, try to find gaps in their defensive formation and be very effective. To penetrate when we get scoring chances, we have to be clinical in those situations. They have attacking power, so defending is the key point. If we keep a clean sheet, it’s a good result. But it’s not going to be easy.”
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