Key events
Team news: Greece v Germany
Greece have already made history against Germany this Nations League, claiming their first win over them in the reverse fixture.
Now they’re back in Thessaloniki, with a chance to strengthen their grip on a group they surprisingly lead.
Greece 4-4-2: Kostas Tzolakis; Manolis Saliakas, Ntinos Mavropanos, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Kostas Tsimikas; Giorgos Masouras, Dimitris Kourbelis, Christos Zafeiris, Alexandros Kyziridis; Vangelis Pavlidis, Fotis Ioannidis.
Replacements: Odysseas Vlachodimos, Christos Mandas, Triantafyllos Tsapras, Panagiotis Retsos, Giannis Michailidis, Giorgos Kyriakopoulos, Dimitris Pelkas, Thanasis Androutsos, Christos Mouzakitis, Charalampos Kostoulas, Tasos Douvikas, Konstantinos Karetsas.
Jürgen Klopp’s Germany arrive buoyed by their first win under him, but the young side face a tougher test in a raucous Toumba Stadium with 18-year-old Lennart Karl starting for the first time.
Florian Wirtz captains a side with an average age of barely 24. Jonas Urbig keeps his place in goal, with David Raum coming in at left-back.
Germany 4-2-3-1: Jonas Urbig; Philipp Treu, Malick Thiaw, Waldemar Anton, David Raum; Aleksandar Pavlović, Tom Bischof; Lennart Karl, Florian Wirtz (c), Derry Scherhant; Jonathan Burkardt.
Replacements: Finn Dahmen, Noah Atubolu, Finn Jeltsch, Ridle Baku, Maximilian Mittelstädt, Yannik Engelhardt, Said El Mala, Mika Baur, Bambasé Conté, Felix Keidel, Vitaly Janelt, Nick Woltemade
Team news: Portugal v Norway
Is this a new dawn for Portuguese football?
For the first time since he burst onto the scene 22 years ago, a fit Cristiano Ronaldo is not part of his nation’s squad.
That means Manchester United’s skipper, Bruno Fernandes takes the armband. Maybe we’ll see all 10 outfield players do more than jog?
Portugal 4-1-3-2: Diogo Costa; João Cancelo, Rúben Dias, Renato Veiga, Nuno Mendes; João Palhinha; Francisco Conceição, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes; João Félix, Gonçalo Ramos.
Replacements: Rui Silva, Samuel Soares, Diogo Dalot, Tomás Araújo, Nuno Tavares, João Neves, Rúben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leão, Francisco Trincão, Pedro Neto, Fábio Silva.
Norway can at least rely on their superstar upfront, but will Elring Haaland be thinking about the troubles facing his club?
Norway 4-3-3: Ørjan Nyland; Marcus Pedersen, Kristoffer Ajer, Leo Østigård, David Møller Wolfe; Sander Berge, Patrick Berg, Martin Ødegaard; Oscar Bobb, Erling Haaland, Antonio Nusa.
Replacements: Sander Tangvik, Egil Selvik, Fredrik Sjøvold, Sondre Langås, Fredrik Aursnes, Thelo Aasgaard, Jørgen Strand Larsen, Ole Didrik Blomberg, Kristian Thorstvedt, Andreas Schjelderup, Erik Botheim, Odin Bjørtuft.
Team news: Wales v Denmark
Three changes for Wales from the side that lost 2-0 to Denmark last month.
Neco Williams, Ben Cabango and Kieffer Moore come into Craig Bellamy’s starting XI. Moore leads the attack, with Brennan Johnson and Sorba Thomas offering support from the flanks.
Wales 4-2-3-1: Danny Ward; Neco Williams, Ben Cabango, Ben Davies (c), Jay Dasilva; Ethan Ampadu, Jordan James; Sorba Thomas, Liam Cullen, Brennan Johnson; Lewis Koumas.
Replacements: David Cornell, Tom King, Chris Mepham, Connor Roberts, Jayden Lienou, Cian Ashford, Daniel James, Joshua Sheehan, Joel Colwill, Wes Burns, Kieffer Moore, Mark Harris.
Denmark 4-3-3: Mads Hermansen; Rasmus Kristensen, Joachim Andersen, Oliver Provstgaard, Joakim Mæhle; Victor Froholdt, Morten Hjulmand, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg; Gustav Isaksen, Rasmus Højlund, Andreas Skov Olsen.
Replacements: Andreas Jungdal, Filip Jørgensen, Lucas Høgsberg, Victor Nelsson, Anton Gaaei, Thomas Jørgensen, Mads Bidstrup, Mohamed Daramy, Mathias Kvistgaarden, Adam Daghim, Kasper Høgh.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
In a normal world, a jumped-up friendly – sorry Nations League diehards – between the teams placed 54th and 77th on Fifa’s rankings wouldn’t be worth a fuss.
But in this world, where bombs fall on hospitals and children starve to death, the meeting of the Republic of Ireland and Israel carries a significance beyond the trite confines of a football match.
What can we say about it that hasn’t already been said? Should it even be happening? Do athletes have a moral obligation to take a stand when their country’s politicians have done little to protect them? Is a footballer tethered to war crimes committed in their name? Or is it possible to set aside mass graves and human rights abuses for a moment and wonder how Dinamo București’s Nikita Stoinov will handle Troy Parrott’s runs?
Football can be an escape from the madness, but sometimes it shines a light on it. To lean into another cliché, this afternoon it will be a bit of both.
There are other tasty games, too. A Ronaldo-less Portugal begin a new era, while Wales have the chance to strut their stuff in front of their home fans. Perhaps those matches will provide enough narrative to avoid difficult conversations elsewhere.
7:45 pm kick-offs:
Do write in with any thoughts, gargantuan or minute. I’ll read every email that comes my way and do my best to keep the chat civil.
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