Finn Azaz says the Republic of Ireland have “real belief” they can exact Nations League revenge on Greece after earning a much-needed win over Finland.
The Irish handed new boss Heimir Hallgrimsson a first win in charge in dramatic fashion in Helsinki on Thursday with Liam Scales’ equaliser and a late Robbie Brady winner securing three vital points.
Greece, who are fresh off stunning England at Wembley, have beaten the Republic of Ireland three times in the past 16 months – including last month’s 2-0 success in Dublin – but Azaz insists the Irish players will approach the Athens game with renewed confidence.
“We will look at the Finland game and build on the positives,” said the Middlesbrough midfielder, who made his competitive international debut in the Finland game.
“We have real belief – and we should have real belief – that we can go there and not feel like an underdog.
“We have a lot of confidence in the squad, it’s just bringing that out on to the pitch, and that’s what we’ll do on Sunday.”
Victory in Helsinki will help ease some of the early pressure on Hallgrimsson following last month’s defeats by England and Greece.
The Irish players were booed by sections of their home fans at the Aviva Stadium following the loss to Greece while the travelling supporters voiced their frustration in Helsinki after Nathan Collins’ woefully underhit backpass gifted Finland the opening goal.
However, Azaz insists he and his team-mates are blocking out the noise as they bid to secure back-to-back competitive wins on the road for the first time since November 2021.
“I am going out there to do my job, that’s what I am trained to do, so I try to ignore the outside noise, we all try to do that. That’s how you have to be,” said the Westminster-born 24-year-old, who qualifies for the Republic of Ireland through his Cork-born grandparents.
“We do hear criticism but that’s part of the job. You need a strong mentality to ignore the noise and hopefully this win will help us gain even more confidence. We have a lot of belief.”
Azaz, who was replaced by Jamie McGrath for the final 20 minutes against Finland, added: “I didn’t hear any boos at half-time. It was a tough game and a tough first half, but you need to show respect to the opposition.
“We are a good team. I felt we could push on at half-time and that’s what we tried to do in the second half.
“With Nathan, mistakes happen and we are ready for that. We didn’t need to say anything to him, he’s an experienced player. We just focused on the positives and had that positive energy for the second half.”