Olympiacos F.C. in European football semi-final appearance. Their campaign began in the second qualifying round, with Cypriot side Anorthosis not able to prevent them from participating in the group stage for a second time in a row. They were drawn in Group A along with Croatia Zagreb, Porto and Ajax, where they managed to win all three home games and secure two away draws, topping the group and getting the ticket for the quarter-finals. There, they were drawn to face Juventus, one of the favourites to win the trophy. In the first leg at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin, Juventus defeated Olympiacos 2–1, which
Matches of the Republic of Ireland national football team Ireland was re-adopted in 1936, and from then until 1954, they played as Ireland; since 1954 they have been Republic of Ireland following the renaming of the team by FIFA, to distinguish them from Northern Ireland. Ireland competed every four years in the qualification phases of the World Cups and, from 1960, in the qualification phases of the European Nations' Cup, later known as the European Football Championships. It was not until 1988 that the team succeeded in qualifying for the finals of a major tournament when they went to West Germany to play in the 1988 European Championships. Two