如果说爱尔兰2024-25赛季的国家联赛令人失望，那真的是轻描淡写，因为格林男孩队不仅丢了12个球，只进了3个球，而且在6场比赛中只赢了2场，他们还不得不忍受两次被对手英格兰队训练的尴尬。
Declan Rice和Jack Grealish都代表了不同年龄段的爱尔兰队，他们在都柏林为三狮军团进球，为爱尔兰人的伤口擦盐，英格兰队在温布利以5比0击败了Heimir Hallgrimsson的球队。
这场惨败是爱尔兰的最后一场比赛，也是他们最后五场客场比赛中的第四场，他们被击败为零，这意味着在周四前往普罗夫迪夫参加与保加利亚的国家联赛附加赛第一回合之前会出现麻烦
与客队不同，周四的东道主在任命新教练后有了很大的进步，在伊利安·伊利耶夫的带领下，狮子队只输了十场比赛中的一场。
保加利亚可能缺乏他们曾经拥有的明星力量；目前的阵容中肯定没有赫里斯托·斯托奇科夫或迪米塔尔·贝尔巴托夫这样的球员；但他们确实愿意为他们的主教练和民族自豪感而战，这可能会让他们在前往都柏林之前取得积极的成绩。
从纸面上看，爱尔兰队的阵容比东道主强得多。然而，他们的明星球员中有太多表现不佳。
Evan Ferguson在西汉姆已经挣扎了几分钟，而Will Smallbone、Jake O'Brien和Matt Doherty在本赛季的大部分时间里都在进行保级战。
在哈尔格里姆森的带领下，爱尔兰队还没有给人留下深刻印象，他们的许多球员都在为状态而挣扎，很难想象他们会在伊利耶夫时代的第一场主场失利给保加利亚队。
预言：
保加利亚平局无赌注
保加利亚1-0
外文原文如下：
To say Ireland’s 2024-25 Nations League campaign was a disappointment would really be an understatement as, not only did the Boys in Green concede 12 goals and score just three while winning only two of their six matches, they also had to endure the embarrassment of being schooled by rivals England, twice.
Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who both represented Ireland at various age groups, netted for the Three Lions in Dublin to rub salt in Irish wounds and England routed Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men 5-0 at Wembley.
That drubbing was Ireland’s last outing and it marked the fourth of their last five away matches to see them beaten to nil, which spells trouble ahead of Thursday’s trip to Plovdiv for the first leg of their Nations League play-off with Bulgaria.
Thursday’s hosts, unlike their visitors, have improved greatly since appointing their new manager, with the Lions losing just one of their ten games under Ilian Iliev.
Bulgaria may lack the star power they once had – there is certainly no players in the current squad at the level of Hristo Stoichkov or Dimitar Berbatov – but there is a real willingness to fight for their manager and national pride, something which could see them earn a positive result ahead of a trip to Dublin.
On paper, Ireland have a far stronger squad than their hosts. However, too many of their star men are underperforming.
Evan Ferguson has struggled for minutes at West Ham while Will Smallbone, Jake O’Brien, and Matt Doherty have spent large periods of the season in a relegation battle.
With Ireland yet to impress under Hallgrímsson and with many of their players struggling for form, it is hard to envisage them inflicting the first home loss of the Iliev era on Bulgaria.
Predictions:Bulgaria Draw No Bet
Bulgaria 1-0
