Liam Scales handed debut against Greece as Kenny chases elusive win

DEBUTANT: Liam Scales, left, will make his Ireland bow at the Aviva. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Liam Scales will make his debut for Ireland as Stephen Kenny opts for a formation against Greece that could see them adopt a flat back four.

With James McClean overlooked and Enda Stevens injured, Celtic’s Wicklow native Scales has shaded Ryan Manning for a spot in the defence.

It remains to be seen whether Kenny reverts to a system he last deployed in June 2021. 

For the last 23 games, he has lined his team up with three centre-backs and wingbacks.

Another failed campaign has left the manager in the twilight of his Ireland tenure and a victory over the fourth seeds is essential to avoid the sense of deflation around his reign deepening.

Will Smallbone comes back into the team, hoping to make a better impression than his last duel with the Greeks. 

He was hauled off a half-time as Ireland crashed to a 2-1 defeat that effectively killed off their hopes of edging France or Netherlands out for one of the two automatic tickets to next year’s Euros in Germany.

As expected, Evan Ferguson leads the line. 

RETURNING FIREPOWER: Irish starlet  Evan Ferguson starts up front for Stephen Kenny's side. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Ireland’s outside chance of sneaking a playoff spot next March has plummeted to two percent following the latest results in the other groups.

IRELAND: G Bazunu; N Collins, S Duffy, L Scales; J Knight, J Cullen, A Browne, M Doherty; W Smallbone, C Ogbene; E Ferguson.

GREECE: O Vlachodimos; L Rota, P Retsos, D Mavropanos, K Tsimikas; D Kourbelis, T Bakasetas, P Mantalos; G Masouras, G Giakoumakis, D Pelkas.

Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE).