All Activity

I also don’t see what Kourbelis has done so special in the last 3 years either. Ever since leaving Panathinaikos he has hasn’t done anything significant for the clubs he’s played for. Alexandropoulos is more of a box to box than a defensive midfielder and statistically has more better defensive contributions this season. Also better going forward with the ball. Just look at both players types of goals they both have scored in their careers in the past. Alex has better quality goals. Not saying Alex is the answer but I would say he’s better and he’s the same size. You’d rather go for the better option. Also Triantis 2 goals and 2 assists this season plays in America ok, but still contributes more as a player in both defence and attack. All 3 don’t play at the highest level but we have to make improvements in that area. Point is we have other players of the same size that can do the job he is doing and possibly better. Seen too many errors to just play someone because he’s older or has more experience. Mouzakitis is better than all of them I agree.

Alexandropoulos has had a poor 2-3 years at club level. He has bounced around between Portugal, Belgium and now in the 2nd tier in Germany and hasn't been able to nail down a starting position since leaving PAO (played a good amount of games in Belgium last season but plenty were as a sub or he was hooked off at halftime.) Fair to say he hasn't developed as we would've hoped. Liatsikouras isn't worth mentioning as a possible replacement atm as he has not broken into Olympiacos first team yet. When he does that he will well and truly be on the radar but a kid playing B Ethniki is not going to displace a seasoned international, that is just reality. Mouzakitis should absolutely be a starter going forward. He has quality and is good on the ball, a modern central midfielder. Similarly so is Zaferis. Kourbelis has a role in the squad, he is experienced and a bigger body, the 2 aforementioned are on the smaller side. I believe Triantis is worth a look and we should be seeing him in the near future. Siopis also has his place in the squad, he is needed in certain games. Tomorrow's game is a tough one as to who you start in CM. I think I would start Siopis next to one of Zafeiris/Mouzakitis. I would argue a midfield 3, with the 3 names mentioned could be a decent option, and start without a number 10 and play with 2 number 8's instead. I don't think Jovanovic will do that though, he won't leave out both of Bakasetas/Konstantelias, one will start.

Also there are players in the Greek league who play CM that can be more serviceable in midfield for Greece.

Theres already 3 DMs I can name that are better than Kourbelis. Alexandropoulos, Triantis and Liatsikouras (potentially) are better and have more height to them aswell. Siopis isn’t the answer although he has high stamina and a lot of running in him. We had less height in the game against Scotland in the nations league and won comfortably in there home stadium. Mouzakitis awareness and intelligent positioning helped us that game and his attacking ability and playmaking is also superior to all of our mids. Zafeiris covered a lot of ground that game too which is important to note. You never change a winning team. That team in the nations league game that won 3-0 should’ve been the starting lineup going forward.

I am not a Kourbelis fan or defender, but I believe the reason he plays is simply because of his height and physiacality. We are quite a short team, apart from the 2 CB's and the striker (all of Pavlidis, Ioannidis and Douvikas are well over 6 foot/186cms +) we lack height. While our CB's are generally good in the air (not the other day) especially when facing set pieces the coach probably feels we don't have enough height to deal with those situations. Now clearly the way we defended in Scotland indicates, as we all know height is not the only factor when defending set pieces. Siopis is a superior defensive mid, but again he lacks height. I believe this is why EPO got Greek-Australian Nectarios Triantis to get his Greek citizenship. He is a 22 year old defensive midfielder who is 191cm (6'3), who played for Scottish side Hibernian last season and was voted into the SPL team of the season. He has moved to the MLS this season and has started well there, with goals and assists in his early appearances. Yet to be called up for the NT despite being eligible the last 2 windows, so I am not sure what is going on there. Clearly for EPO to chase him and have him get his passport indicates there is an intention to call him up, and he plays in a position where we lack quality/depth.

Good points I am not putting all the blame on the coach as we have defensive issues in the old days under Rehagel and Santos and with the backs we had Greece would never lose that match. Our defending has been questionable to say the least but we have Kourbelis vs Denmark dribbling near our box and giving away the ball that leads to a goal. Then he gets the start again in Scotland? Why? what has he done for Greece? I remember him giving away a needless penalty in Finland in 2020 European qualifier and that cost us the match. How is he being selected when he plays in the Saudi league? It makes no sense and I am a PAO fan..

Its still crazy that Greece can actually top the group. We should have won that match vs Scotland and we would have been in a great position to get 2nd place at the very least, total domination and we get nothing from it. Who knows if Jovanovich gets the lineup right and we defend like Greek teams of old then we can win this match. If Greece can win in England they can win here. Our problem is we are giving up way to many silly goals. Scotland had no chances in open play there goals came of set pieces and our defense could not clear our lines. The third goal was a stupid mistake from Tzolakis two in the last two matches. No Tzolakis for this match and no Kourbelis and no Masouras very simple!

Despodov just provided an assist for Bulgaria against Turkey.

Cyprus in a rare position of being expected to win this one comfortably.

Great result indeed. Germany was unbeaten for 4 years. The Kostoulas goal btw not scored by striker Babis but his brother and defender Kostas.

That's a big result, since Germany are the finalists of the last U21 EURO championships.

More good news for the youngins as we defeat Germany away 2-3. Goals by Kostoulas, Tzimas, Rallis.

I hate that I’m even saying this, because let’s be honest it’s basically over. We need an absolute miracle now. Scenario 1: Greece would have to run the table and beat Denmark, Scotland, and Belarus. Let’s say somehow, they pull off the upset and beat Denmark. Beating Scotland back in Athens and taking care of Belarus shouldn’t be too difficult. That would give Greece 12 points. If we assume Denmark and Scotland both beat Belarus, they’d each move to 10 points with one game left against each other. If that happens, we wouldn’t need help from anyone else: If Denmark and Scotland draw, they’d both finish on 11 points and Greece would take first place. If one of them wins, Greece would finish second and still grab a playoff spot. So, realistically, Greece still controls its own destiny, but only if they win all three games. Scenario 2: If Greece draws with Denmark, then we’d need Denmark to beat Scotland. That would leave both teams tied for second, meaning it all comes down to goal differential. Scotland currently has a big advantage there, so we’d need to absolutely smash Belarus and beat Scotland by a few goals to make it through. Not liking our chances at all but if they pull off a miracle on Sunday somehow beat Denmark that all changes. Group Standings Denmark- 7 Scotland - 7 Greece - 3 Belarus - 0

I don't think we should fully blame the coach. This team is mostly made up of youngsters, and they're the future – and the future looks bright. I really think Kourbelis is the weak link in this team. He's declined a lot, and Masouras is slowly declining as well. We used to have a great defense and a captain with loads of experience at the top level. We're missing those aspects. The coach has a ceiling, but isn't totally to blame. The only thing to blame is the selection of Kourbelis. I'm not singling him out – he's been okay in the past, but nothing more. This is a wake-up call for the Greek league. There needs to be a rule in place regarding the number of foreigners being signed. All teams, except Olympiakos, need to start integrating young Greeks with talent. It would benefit their clubs financially and help the national team in the long run. I still think we should've started the same team that beat Scotland in the Nations League. Out with the players who are 30 years old, and use the team that beat Scotland as the starting 11 going forward. Then, tinker when things need to be tinkered with. I'm disappointed that this could mean we miss another major tournament. If Scotland somehow miraculously draws against Belarus, there's still a chance – that is, if we win our remaining three games.

Great last 2 posts from @Bardouuu and @HellasLEAF agree with both you guys. Scotland is clearly an aging squad without much pace or threat on the counter, we played them off their feet in March with the younger starting 11 and Jovanovic should've (easy in hindsight) backed as close to that starting 11 again this time around. He got spooked by the kids being completely dominated by the Danes and reverted to experience (Bakasetas, Masouras). Despite those errors, the team created more than enough chances to win the game. Scotland equalising immediately after we finally scored completely flipped the whole atmosphere. The crowd got going and the Scots started to believe. The team's inability to deal with a dead ball ultimately cost us, I don't know how much of that is on Jovanovic. Probably a little, with regard to structure at set pieces but really it is on the players. The first goal in particular, we had 3 opportunities to clear our lines, and lost every duel in that passage. I don't care if you're playing Brazil or Belarus, that just isn't good enough at this level. It would take a miracle from here, we have to win our last 3 to have any chance of a play-off spot. Clearly beating the Danes away will be awfully tough. Ironically, I think the more experienced and physical Bakasetas and Masouras should probably start this next game. Denmark need to win as they have Scotland breathing down their neck, the Danes will chase the win but I don't think they'll do this from the outset. They will be patient and try to press us high and deny us the chance to build up. I think the longer that game stays at 0-0 the more they will open up and we MAY be able to expose them. There is a path to victory in Copenhagen, but it will require a 100% improvement in performance from the first game against Denmark and a bit of a shift in tactics IMO.

I wouldn’t blame jovanovic for this loss. The players messed this game up. The plan worked well, we had plenty of chances at goal and gave very limited opportunities to Scotland. Unfortunately the coach can’t get on the field and grab the ball for the goalie, and can’t fight for a header or stick a foot out to score a goal. We need to hold the players accountable. Denmark was clearly the better team. Scotland was not, but we handed it over anyway. Really, really tough, and painful loss. They build us up to break us down.. I don’t like our WC outlook whatsoever.

Jovanovic who I very much like and respect for me played it too safe and put out the wrong team. He went away from the team that worked the first time around. Scotland was not great early in the match and instead they hung around long enough to turn the narrative their way. Possession was there but not enough skill or threatening play to break Scotland down clearly and cause real problems for them. We point to the Pavlidis chance which should have been a goal but it was a single chance there was a header but not much more. The younger team didn't play well vs Denmark at home but instead of trusting them again away as before he played it safe and put the usuals in and the results are obvious. Even if he made the lineup he should have switched players at the half not at the 70 it was more of the same anyone can see. He has helped lead us back to prominence but this was a misstep.

Greece look great against unorganised minnow opponents, where we can just overwhelm them, and they don’t have the capability to adjust. Against more serious opposition, the script flips. Against compact, physically assertive teams, there’s no adaptability. Same build up patterns, same wide overloads, no variation in tempo.

We managed to f up they greatest draw in years! Jovanovich who I really like has managed to mess up the last two matches.

It sounds sad to think it's come to this but if somehow they beat Denmark they still have a chance at 2nd but must run the table and still need a result.

We lost the game even though we had 64% possession and double the amount of shots.....

I just heard on sport fm that since England will qualify it goes to the team with the higher FIFA ranking another thing that screws us!

I don't think so.

That went out the window with the 3-0 loss in Athens to England.

Can we get in playoff via Nations League?