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Greece vs Estonia (31 August 2017- World Cup Qualifier- Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus)


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36 minutes ago, Rockafeller Skank said:

Bouchalakis starting once again in Championship. I fail to see how he will not play against Estonia. Him,Zeca, Siopis,Tziolis are the only players who have had playtime so far in the midfield. I doubt we see Tziolis in this match. Zeca seems a starter.

and vellios once again not even on the bench..he's not worth anything now, i'd gladly take some superleague striker instead of him. same for diamantakos, basically 2 out of 5 players in cf position play in b divisions and basically they don't even make the starting 11..i hope athanasiadis finds his form, he's more useful than both of these unskilled nt materials..

on other news torosidis seems to be injured and i think he'll miss the games. probably tzavellas will start in front of him but i'd prefer lykogiannis

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Although at times I  would like to see some different squad selections. However, I must give to credit to Skibbe on working with the players to return Greece to respectability.

Not every coach is a fit for every team and the squad that makes up that team. Greece has never been flashy, we lack the crazy over the top superstar power. But our best campaigns (beginning with Euro 2004) have been based on solid defensive play, timely goal keeping, smart set pieces, ability to absorb and capitalizing on the counter.

In order for success, the Ethniki must have a good chemistry, heart, a team first mentality, and play for each other. 

I realize there is plenty of work to do beginning with Estonia. I know that we have some injuries & suspensions, but we have to put our big boy pants on .....as other teams miss key players through injuries etc. 

The Greek squads that have battled best, took each game 1 at a time. I hope that Skibbe and the players will keep evolving.

Let's see the Greek team play smart, and leave it all on the field.

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13 minutes ago, Boxou said:

and vellios once again not even on the bench..he's not worth anything now, i'd gladly take some superleague striker instead of him. same for diamantakos, basically 2 out of 5 players in cf position play in b divisions and basically they don't even make the starting 11..i hope athanasiadis finds his form, he's more useful than both of these unskilled nt materials..

on other news torosidis seems to be injured and i think he'll miss the games. probably tzavellas will start in front of him but i'd prefer lykogiannis

Man stop calling s%$#! on Vellios so much. He played in all nottingham friendlies and he scored on all of them. 5 goals. And most of them he came from the bench and played limited time. There is something else going on with Vellios. There is literally no reason for him not cutting the squad in preseason, because he simply was their best striker. A transfer to Olympiakos last day of the transfer window seems the most reasonable, but you just calling him not-worthy just makes you look clueless. You don't need a brain to understand something other than him having bad performance is going on.

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whatever you say. friendlies? lol. what about actual games. he's not been in the squad for a 5th game in row in the league, doesn't even play in the cup. stop defending him like he's done anything worth bragging. he doesn't even earn his place here, he should be thankful we have no strikers. and i'm not clueless, that's you who thinks vellios is important for the team while he's not. same as last year, after januray he wasn't even making their squad. hopefully he and skibbe's buddy diamantakos will be the last choices in the selection if there are no absentees.

sokratis also injured. he would miss estonia game anyway but he's a big loss if he can't play in the one against belgium. tbh i don't see bosnia coming close to even beating them in an empty stadium, with their crap defence they'll concede 2-3 goals easily. so us losing to belgium won't hurt, if we take care of estonia and then cyprus-gibraltar.

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SKIBBE MIXES OLD AND NEW IN LATEST GREEK SQUAD
 

Michael Skibbe announced his squad this week for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Belgium.

The Ethniki boss selected 27 players into the Greek camp this week springing a couple of surprises with his call-ups. For the most part Skibbe has relied on familiar faces as the bulk of the squad is similar to other ones he has used in the qualification process. However,  there are first-time call-ups for Andreas Bouchalakis and Giannis Anestis. Skibbe continues on with his policy of bringing in new faces who are in form.

Panagiotis Tachtsidis and Tasos Bakasetas are included in the squad despite missing most of their club’s preseason due to injury. The main concern of Greek supporters has centered around the injury of Kostas Mitroglou. The Benfica striker has been sidelined for the last couple weeks, but has been included in the squad though he is set to miss the Estonia match. Mitroglou is expected to play against Belgium, either from the start or as a substitute.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos is in the squad, though suspension will keep him out of the Estonia qualifier.

Below is the entire squad called up for the two matches against Estonia and Belgium:

Goalkeepers: Giannis Anestis (AEK), Stefanos Kapino (Olympiacos), Orestis Karnezis (Udinese)

Defenders: Vassilis Torosidis (Bologna), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (B. Dortmund), Kostas Manolas (Roma), Panagiotis Retsos (Olympiacos), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Hamburg), Kostas Stafylidis (Augsburg), Babis Lykogiannis (Sturm Graz), Giorgos Tzavellas (Alanyaspor)

Midfielders: Panagiotis Tachtsidis (Olympiacos), Andreas Samaris (Benfica), Giannis Maniatis (Alyanspor), Alexandros Tziolis (Al-Fayha), Carlos Zeca (Panathinaikos), Manolis Siopis (Olympiacos), Dimitris Kourbelis (Panathinaikos), Kostas Fortounis (Olympiacos), Petros Mantalos (AEK), Giannis Gianniotas (Real Valladolid), Andreas Bouchalakis (Nottingham Forest)

Forwards: Dimitris Diamantakos (Karlsruhe), Kostas Mitroglou (Benfica), Apostolos Vellios (Nottingham Forest), Tasos Bakasetas (AEK), Tasos Donis (VfB Stuttgart)

 
 
Edited by Greekaroos
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Sokratis was ill.....but he will be fine for Belgium.

Toro is doubtful...

My 11 (or what I think Skibbe will pick) vs Estonia

 

......................Karnezis.....................

 

Retsos......K,Pap.....Manolas.........Tzavellas

 

......................Zeca...........Bouchalakis......

 

Mandalos....................Fortounis.............Stafyllidis

 

...................................Donis.....................................

Edited by RED SHERIFF
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I like Red Sheriff's team if Mitroglou & Torosidis are definitely unavailable for the Estonia match. Without a traditional number 9 like Mitroglou having four players with a lethal shot from outside the the penalty area like Tzavellas, Stafylidis, Bouchalakis & Fortounis would be a very good option against a team that will be very defensive around the area.

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zeca and bouchalakis have never played together, i'd put samaris there instead of bouchalakis. he's a better player and i think him not playing lately isn't a reason of concern, estonian midfielders are not too much of a threat. samaris also needs to start because he'll be needed for the belgium game. i expect torosidis not to start and some key players like fortounis or mantalos who had a full schedule latelty to be subbed off if we have a decent lead, closing the game

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47 minutes ago, Boxou said:

zeca and bouchalakis have never played together, i'd put samaris there instead of bouchalakis. he's a better player and i think him not playing lately isn't a reason of concern, estonian midfielders are not too much of a threat. samaris also needs to start because he'll be needed for the belgium game. i expect torosidis not to start and some key players like fortounis or mantalos who had a full schedule latelty to be subbed off if we have a decent lead, closing the game

 

You were crying for Tachtsidis Vellios not having playtime and suddently you want Samaris in there? Damn you my frienad are the most un-based dude I ve ever seen in this Forum. 

Playtime will be a lot more needed other than individual talent. Someone who is not used to playing 90 minutes  because he hasn't played for 3 months, is gonna be much more of a burden than someone not as good who can run and is in form.
Im not gonna expect Torosidis to be dropped. He ll be back and he probably asked to be subbed so that it does not get worse for the NT matches.

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where did i cry for tachtsidis not playing...are you delusional or what? i'm complaining about vellios who can't crack into nottingham forest's bench. regarding samaris he is not playing because 1) he is suspended and 2) benfica look to sell him. not because he unskilled like your crush vellios.

and stop insulting me, you must be obsessed. if you don't like my posts then don't read them...

Edited by Boxou
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Estonia are going to play hard. As we have injuries and absences, I hope the replacement players can step up and give their best. This match really will show the character of this squad and see how Skibbe can prepare them for a scrappy yet vital match. I agree, Estonia cannot be taken lightly.

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14 hours ago, Dean97 said:

Samaris and Tachtsidis are no doubt our best midfielders, whether they are playing or not they should be starting for the national team. Vellios might be talented but is not that good to be in the team.

Even with regard the aerial game, 6'2 and 6'4 respectively give us some good presence and that sometimes goes a long way. Just look at Tachtsidis springing Mitro off a won header on the goal vs Belgium. 

Edited by Argy
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With this match against Estonia so close to the match against Belgium you will probably find that Greece will need to use a different midfield or formation for each match. Samaris might be used as a 2nd half substitute against Estonia & have him fresh & ready for a huge battle in the midfield against Belgium.

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13 hours ago, Argy said:

Even with regard the aerial game, 6'2 and 6'4 respectively give us some good presence and that sometimes goes a long way. Just look at Tachtsidis springing Mitro off a won header on the goal vs Belgium. 

Not only that Argy they are very good at passing. Better than Maniatis, Tziolis and Katsouranis. There passes are very crisp and strong. What I mean is that the ball travels to their teammates with a fast pace. Also Tachtsidis vision is very good and is needed in this midfield.

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Everything I'm reading is saying no toro v Estonia but it hasn't mentioned if he'll be fit for the Belgium match. I did read that he hasn't (as of yet at least) travelled to Greece. So I'd assume he is out for our 2nd match as well. 

Donis needs to get the start over Vellio/Diamantako, my only issue is I don't know how much of a pure CF he is, I'm pretty sure he's lead the line at club level so it shouldn't be too unreasonable to ask him to do the same v Estonia 

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I'd rather have Donis on the wing. He might do well as striker who knows. Bakasetas should be tried up front. If I choose between Vellios and Diamantakos it would be Vellios. 

Torosidis and Kourbelis are ruled out for the two matches. So we have Torosidis and Sokratis out. I'd expect either Papadopoulos or Samaris to be captain or maybe Karnezis. The question is who will start at right back? It should be between Retsos and Stafylidis.

Edited by Dean97
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