Northern Ireland v Greece (02/06/2022)

Cardiff City winger Gavin Whyte has made the most appearances off the bench for Northern Ireland in the Nations League, coming on as a substitute on a total of five occasions. The former Crusaders man’s only goal in the competition came as a sub when, 20 minutes after replacing Conor Washington, he scored the equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Romania in Bucharest back in September 2020.

Between them Michael O’Neill and Ian Baraclough used a total of 33 players in Northern Ireland’s two Nations League campaigns to date. Four of those 33 players made their full international debuts in the competition. They are: Kyle Vassell (18.11.2018) v Austria (h) Daniel Ballard (04.09.2020) v Romania (a) Alistair McCann (15.11.2020) v Austria (a) Matthew Kennedy (18.11.2020) v Romania (h)

Northern Ireland have picked up a total of 14 yellow cards in their 10 Nations League matches since 2018. The only two players to have received more than one caution are Oliver Norwood and Josh Magennis, both of whom were booked on two occasions. Magennis’ two yellows both came in the 1-1 draw against Romania in Bucharest , meaning he is the only Northern Ireland player to date to have been dismissed in the competition.

Over the last two Nations League campaigns Northern Ireland have used three goalkeepers. Burnley’s Bailey Peacock- Farrell , who has played in six games, and Trevor Carson and Michael McGovern, who have played in two apiece. Unfortunately none of the three netminders managed to keep a clean sheet during their stints between the sticks.

Tonight’s opponents Greece have played a total of 10 matches in the Nations League over the past two campaigns, winning four of them. Two of those victories have come away from home. Their recent record in the competition is quite impressive having remained unbeaten in their last six outings (three wins and three draws) . Their full record to date reads:

P W D L F A 10 4 3 3 8 6

IRISHFA.COM

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