The national coach of the Republic of Ireland Heimir Hallgrimsson stood before the media before the clash with Bulgaria in the Nations League play-offs, Topsport reported. The match in Plovdiv will be played tomorrow (March 20) at 9:45 p.m.
"In my opinion, Bulgaria is a tactically strong team and has a solid performance. A team that is difficult to break through. We analyzed the Bulgarian team. Against Northern Ireland here the match was strong for your team, and in the away match there were bad circumstances. You have strong players like Kraev and Despodov. You play strong in defense and in five matches you have not conceded a goal. Our team wants to stay in Group B of the Nations League," he began.
"There may be experiments, but no unnecessary risks will be taken. Our ultimate goal is to stay in Group B. We have a lot of players without call-ups in the national team. I try to convey my principles and my philosophy to the players. We try to enrich the squad with new players. We have to be patient and be careful with Bulgaria's counterattacks. Even when they don't have the ball, Bulgaria manages to control the match. This is a good opportunity for Bulgaria to consolidate its good performance," the specialist added.
"Azas finds a lot of empty spaces and played very strong matches for Middlesbrough. We will rely on him in attack. He can raise our level. Unfortunately, we can only rely on 11 players. This match comes at a good time because all the players are in optimal shape," the coach said.
Irish defender Nathan Collins spoke to the media in Plovdiv, sportal.bg reported.
"It will be great for us to keep a clean sheet, but we will try to find a way to break through Bulgaria's defense and score. It was tough after our loss to England, but this match with Bulgaria is a good opportunity to show a better face and football. My role against England was new for me, but we managed to create problems for the opponent. I maintained good communication with my colleagues," said Nathan Collins.