Scouting Greece

Greece’s triumph at Euro 2004 is no doubt the biggest sporting achievement in the country’s history for a men’s team sport. As a result, they were selected as World team of the Year at the 2005 Laureus World Sports Awards. Fans were, however, once again disappointed as the Greeks in the World Cup, as they finished last in their group in 2006. They did a little better in 2010, failing to make it out of the group stages once again. What does 2014 hold in store for the team that once turned defensive play into an art form?

QUALIFYING CAMPAIGN

Greece managed to keep five clean sheets during their campaign. They secured their berth in Brazil 2014 by beating play-off opponents Romania 3-1 at home and drawing 1-1 in Bucharest.

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: ;Orestis Karnezis (Granada CF), Panagiotis Glykos (PAOK FC), Stefanos Kapino (Panathinaikos FC). Defenders: ;Vassilis Torossidis (AS Roma), Loukas Vyntra (Levante UD), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund), Kostas Manolas (Olympiacos FC), Vangelis Moras (Hellas Verona FC), José Holebas (Olympiacos FC), Giorgos Tzavellas (PAOK FC). Midfielders: ;Giannis Maniatis (Olympiacos FC), Alexandros Tziolis (Kayserispor), Andreas Samaris (Olympiacos FC), Kostas Katsouranis (PAOK FC), Giorgos Karagounis (Fulham FC), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Bologna FC), Panagiotis Kone (Bologna FC), Panagiotis Tachtsidis (Torino FC), Giannis Fetfatzidis (Genoa CFC). Forwards: ;Georgos Samaras (Celtic FC), Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham FC), Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK FC), Fanis Gekas (Konyaspor).

STYLE OF PLAY

Traditionally strong at set-pieces and with an extremely effective approach to defending: they prefer sitting back and playing in their counter attacking style. They often struggle against skillful teams that put together quick combinations around the box.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Greece’s traditional defensive solidity is still there, but the age old question remains: Where will the goals come from?

With vital goals in group games and three over two games in the play-off, striker Kostas Mitroglou has emerged as the star of Greek Football. Nicknamed “Mitrogoal” and “Pistolero” by fans, in a World Cup group that includes Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) and potentially a recovering Radamel Falcao, Greece need a striker of their own to put fear into opponents’ defences. Japan don’t have one. Greece just might and that could be the difference.

Roma defender Vasilis Torosidis is the mainstay of the defence with 64 international caps and 9 goals. Jose Holebas is a left-back with a great delivery on set pieces. His defensive decision-making can sometimes be suspect, however.

The midfield still relies on captain, 37-year-old Giorgos Karagounis and 34-year-old Kostas Katsouranis. Overall, the engine room lacks much-needed pace and creativity.

Greece’s upcoming friendlies against Portugal, Nigeria and Bolivia before their opening Group C clash with Colombia should shed some light on their preferred starting line up in this area.

IN CONCLUSION

Finishing in the top two in Group C is a possibility, but it’s more likely that they will put in a decent effort that falls just short.