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We just went toe to toe with the best team in the world. Scoring 2 goals in 5 minutes was unreal. This was a huge confidence booster heading into March. A lot of positives from the boys tonight. We all should be proud of this performance..

Booked my tickets to Marseille. I believe the Scotsman will also be joining me.

Why they didn't reseed based on FIFA rank is baffling. Greece should be playing both at home!

Diego says hi to all PAOKtzides.

And let's give Poyet his due! None of us were too crazy about his hire, and he is 4-0 in this competition, and 5-1 overall. This is the best we've been since we got back from Brazil.

The atmosphere has changed they are starting to learn how to close out games and get the 3 points this was a non factor with this team and previous coaches. The players look like they are plying for each other, they look like they have the passion that’s been missing for years and you can see that when the national anthem was playing with Tsimikas reaction. Even the players on the bench are not stop interacting.. The tide is turning for this team and Poyet is looking like a true coach we’ve been missing. Poyets in game decision making in his short time he’s been here so far is looking spot on he can read the game and the players that don’t have it on a particular night. When was the last time we’ve scored 7 goals and allowed 0 in 4 games played? Man the is the first time in years I’ve been so excited for this team..

That is a big part of the issue, we do not have an abundance of options in central midfield and the players that do play there are limited in one way or another. Kourbelis, Zeca, Siopis are all pure defensive mids who aren't great with the ball but are pretty solid at the defensive stuff (especially Siopis and Zeca) Bouchalakis lack of pace wouldn't necessarily be a problem if he made quick decisions but he doesn't. He wants time and space on the ball something not often afforded in modern football with so much pressing going on. His control is also hit and miss, at least a few times a game the ball will bounce off him and the opposition will win the ball back and launch a counter when half our team is up the pitch. Galanopoulos is the one who has a key role to play but injuries have completely taken over his career in the last 2 years. Disappointing for him and a big blow for the Ethniki. Alexandropoulos is still young and isn't a nailed on starter for PAO but he is an option, not sure he's the answer at least not at this stage. The buck starts and ends with our talent pool, it's limited. We can bicker on here about who should start over who but the reality is apart from a few (mainly defenders) we don't have many midfielders/attackers who are above Super league quality. And those who are have limitations which hinders them when they play at a higher level.

I had a chance to watch the King Otto documentary. What an amazing way to re-live the dream run of 2004.

Samaris doesn't have a team, before being let go for free by Benfica he basically hadn't played at all last season. Not to mention he's always been bang average to poor for the Ethniki. Fortounis is injured, so unless we roll him out on his crutches probably couldn't have played. Won't deny Sokratis and Manolas would've helped during this campaign, they have had off-field issues with management that has unfortunately ended their NT careers as long as JVS is at the wheel. But half the guys you mentioned it's not feasible for them to be playing currently. Samaris is done with the NT, he needs to find a club and he wasn't able to find one over the summer, clearly his career is winding down. Stick to AFL re, Blues for the flag next year Cerra to win the Brownlow.

I really hope Greece keeps JVS. He has the Ethniki headed in the right direction.

The final was a random draw, it fell Georgia's way. Their stadium holds 55k, it will be packed and the atmosphere will be electric. Tough road trip for us for sure. As for today's game, so proud of the lads that was a great performance. Foot down from the start, showed they are a better team and kept going until the game was completely safe. The team has definitely developed more of a killer edge under Poyet. Credit to him and the players, I don't think there has been one game in his tenure that we lost where we were expected to win. We beat the teams we should, that is how we topped our group in the Nations League, that is how we stayed in touch with France and the Netherlands during qualifying and that is now why we are one win away from our first major tournament in 10 years.

Crazy how we all get punished for the last 3 events being caused by OLY fans. If this was PAOK, we would be penalized 10 points and no fans remainder of the year.

i guess i'll shut up about the line up... lol

At the end of the day like some guys said already France had to rely on a penalty to beat us. We held our own and we showed we won’t be an easy out for any team. This to me even though we lost was a huge confidence booster and we are really starting to show that this team is starting to put it together and hopefully have leave the dreadful years behind us. I haven’t read one negative article or listened to one negative podcast about how Greece played. Everything was very positive even from the French media. In September we play in Holland first and then against Gibraltar at home. Netherlands plays us and then go into Ireland. At the very least if we can get a draw against the Netherlands we should easily get 3 points against Gibraltar which will still keep us ahead of them. Hopefully they also drop points in Ireland. This is the first time in years where I actually feel optimistic about this team.

Poyet addressed it a few days ago and essentially said, he wasn't called up for these matches because in order to fit him in, the formation needs to be changed from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. It seems Poyet, as other managers before him at both club and country level don't like Fortounis' lack of work rate and discipline without the ball. He did make a point to say just because he wasn't called this time around doesn't mean he isn't in future plans. In a 4-3-3, Poyet wants his midfield 3 to press without the ball and track the opposition not just play with the ball. Bakasetas, Siopis, Kourbelis offer these things. Clearly he thinks Bakasetas offers enough attacking drive (with the wingers and striker) to create enough opportunities to score. Poyet also described Bakasetas as 'untouchable' atm in his current Ethniki form and it is hard to argue given his performances over the last year. Fortounis has long been discussed here and in the Greek media, he's a media darling and they are just as shocked he hasn't been included. Me personally, I see the reasons why but don't necessarily agree with his exclusion all together. Here's a link to Poyet's explanation in full for anyone interested. https://www.sport24.gr/football/apokalypseis-poget-ayta-eipa-sto-tilefono-me-ton-fortoyni-o-mpakasetas-einai-untouchable.10061489.html

Solid win first up, seems we never really got out of 2nd gear and still managed to score three and hit the woodwork another 3 times. On another day we score 5-6. Not too much more to take out of it but the 3 points. France beating the Netherlands is good news, it means assuming we beat Ireland in Greece in June (we also play France in June but we assume that's a loss and anything we get out of it is a bonus) we would be leading the Dutch heading into our match-up in September. The Dutch don't play in June due to the Nations League finals. It will be important going to the Netherlands and being 3 points clear of them in September, meaning a draw will keep ourselves clear of them heading into the last 4 matches. Schedule has helped us, and France sweeping the group will also help. We can keep our noses in-front of the Netherlands until they come to Greece in our 2nd last match. A lot of water to go under the bridge until then, but if we take care of business v Ireland (not easy) and Gibraltar we are in with a fighting chance to pinch 2nd spot.

G'day mate!!! Throw another schnitzel on the barbie

we have one of those in here. would you mind taking him off our hands?

That was my niece who scored both goals today!!!! She just recently joined the club from the States. Super proud of her!

If we can maintain a winning form, stay injury free, then I believe we can reach 20-25 in the FIFA classification within 12-18 months, about where Sweden, Serbia, Poland and Ukraine are at the monent. Teams that I think we can compete with. We will need a good Euro qualifying campaign, get to Euro 2024 and pick up some good results, and then consolidate our position in League B. Hopefully some of our younger players can come through, and shine.

And no poison players. All these players have heart.

Relying on Bakasetas, with class goals. No one would of said that a week ago..we are a fickle bunch.

If soon to be 34 year old Sokratis is our best CB, god help us... Also, Baldock wasn't even Greek 2 days ago, and we are acting like he's Trippier. He isn't better than Lyratzis, at least not in my opinion. Tzolis hasn't played meaningful first team minutes in months. Based off of potential he is, but right now I wouldn't start him neither.

As @Athens4has said, Marseille Incoming! Ticket is printed and sat on my desk as I type. I just need to finalise the travel plan.... Planes, trains and automobiles style i think 🙂

What is this, 2014? Do you really think that Ninis and Fetfazidis should be anywhere near our national team? Ninis hasn't played for the national team in 7 years. In that time span he has had 5 goals. And you want Fetfazidis as a leader? To lead what exactly? A gas station? Dude has been a major bust for "the Greek Messi". People want change for the team. Yet always call on the old guard. I am fine with Siovas and Manolas. I wouldn't have Sokrates either in the NT, he's honestly around 10th in Greek CB's depth chart. Show me any serious national team that calls up has-beens. Let's see if Charisteas has any legs under him either, or Samaras to help score some goals!

"Organised" fans are living in another decade. They have too much power and they think they are more important than they are. As for the on-field, our form has been patchy all season nowhere near enough consistency to compete for the title. The only way this season is salvaged IMO is by getting out of the group in the Conference League and hopefully progressing beyond the round of 32.

Athanasiadis replaces Dioudis in the Ethniki!

I agree with you but they did a draw after qualifying ended. Wales also gets two home matches and will play Poland at home. Greece have won the last 4 matches in Georgia. Most recently in 2022 wcup qualifier 2 nil. Georgia is a better team but we have improved a lot since JVS left and Poyet has the team beating countries that Greece should be beating. Let’s Go 🇬🇷

That is how you play team football, every freakin match Greece must play this way to ensure victory. The next match in Georgia will be a tricky one, but history shows it's on Greece's side.

Job #1 qualify. Job #2 don't lose to Turkey

I tip my hat to you Dutch Eagle for all your intrepid work digging up the latest news on our boys abroad

Alright boys I thought we’d get a recap of events and our situation going here. The Gibraltar game was very exciting in my opinion and is a manifestation of the progress the team has made under Poyet. Time and time again we have lost or drawn against these minnows and hurt our qualifying chances. We have always fought the higher level teams much harder compared to the lesser teams in our groups and it’s been these lesser teams that have been what truely have held us back from qualifying the last 10 years. Look at our last campaign we start with a shock draw against Spain only to then draw with Kosovo and Georgia. We even beat Sweden our first match against them but these two draws were too much to overcome. Under Poyet we are treating the minnows like minnows. We attack attack attack and not let a team like Kosovo boss us all over the field. The nations league last year was a great example of how far we have come. I know these teams all suck but that’s not the point. The point is we are finally starting to beat the teams we are supposed to beat, and when it comes to qualifying for an expanded Euro competition ( excluding our difficult group this year since we are pot c) we have no excuse not to qualify if we beat the teams we are supposed to beat. The Lithuania game was a mix bag. It’s a friendly but I still would have like to have us win bcuz it’s LITHUANIA. However, the way we played was positive. We were attacking non stop and yes we did get unlucky at times. Overall I think even that game was a step in the right direction. If we fail to qualify from the group and the NL playoff for a 24 team euro will be a massive embarrassment, but we’ve been nothing short of embarrassing for the last 9 years. We have to beat Ireland both times and it is as simply as that. The Dutch are historically an extremely inconsistent team. We can 100% catch them on an off day on one of our games with them. The optimist in me and our history against big teams leads me to quietly believe that we will shock France and tie one of our games. They just lost a World Cup final. That has to be emotionally draining and while they got up for their game against the Netherlands, I could definitely see them on cruise control during their second game against us. BUT AND I STRESS BUT none of this matters if we don’t beat Ireland. Plain and simple. They will play more open against us than they did against the Dutch in their 0-1 loss. We have to capitalize on that. I will cry tears of joy if I can watch my beloved Ethniki play a World Cup game here in the states in 2026, and qualifying for this euro and boosting our ranking and confidence is the first step in this goal getting realized. I am starving for us to be in major tournaments again. I remember screaming on the couch crying with my dad when Samaras scored that penalty against Ivory Coast. I desperately wish to feel that again and I cautiously believe that we have a chance at that with the direction we are going. PAME HELLAS

Turkey loses to Faroe Islands 2-1.

4 out 4 wins in 10 days. No goals conceded. Poyet couldnt have asked for a better start. Players can now have a good break. I like Poyet. He's old school, a little bit crazy. The real tests are coming in the next Euro qualifiers, but the way team is playing, gives me the belief that we can compete and beat stronger nations. I would love to see this Greece team in Germany in 2024.

what A goal!!!!’ And that’s why you start Giakoumakis over Pavlidis!!!!

9 Points after 3 games. I cant remember the last time that has happened for us. The finals comes down to Sunday a win and we dominate this group. It may be way too early to say this but this team has a different feel under Poyet, they look more confident, they are better defensively and as we can see they are still creating chances. This is the most optimistic i have been about this team in a long time. I fully understand the quality of teams we are playing but for the last 5 years we haven't been able to walk away with wins and look good doing it. I really hope this is the turning point for the Ethniki and we continue to improve while getting results. for the amount of times i have spoken bad about Bakasetas i have to now give him credit for his play at late and he's acting like a leader out there and is on fire for the NT right now. Lets keep it going and end this on Sunday with a win at home against Kosovo

Another big game tomorrow. A win here and we basically solidify a top 2 finish. Not that second means anything. But 9 points in 3 games would be huge! Win the next two home games and we should be fine for 1st.

I’ve seen Tzolis play some games in the EPL when he’s been given a chance and he didn’t put a foot wrong. He played nice passes and got into goal scoring situations and gave his teammates good opportunities to score. He also tracked back a lot too. It’s not his fault. Norwich are just crap. We got a player like Tzolis who is still young and full of potential and really is a rare player to have for Greece. In my opinion he’s our best winger/attacker. Just like Alexandropoulos is our best CM in my opinion. Fortounis on his day is our best CAM. I agree with @J1078 Fortounis is still our best CAM even at 70%. The call ups are all wrong. This is the same team that JVS picked. They are choosing the same failed players again. Nothing will change. We have Nikolaou who is always playing in the Serie A but they rather go with Tzavellas who is not even wanted at his club. Vasiliadis plays Bundesliga every week but never gets a chance. Manolas and Siovas are ignored again. They are not picking the best players…

That was great to see. I’ve been very critical of him I just hope he can somehow turn up for Greece and actually play well and be the reason why we win a game for once.

More Greek goal scorers in Euro leagues this week than what the entire NT had during last WC qualifiers. Giakoumakis 2, Pavlidis 2, Limnios 2, Douvikas, Emanoulidis, Tsimikas

Got back home a couple of hours ago. I know that we were all looking forward to this away day. I am devastated to say my game day experience wasn't great. First of all the local council in Marseille along with the police couldn't organise a piss up in brewery. We wanted to do the hour-long walk to the stadium with them either side of us. They prevented this from happening due to OM hooligans waiting for us with stones and steel bars. While I think this was a fair decision, it seems they did not have busses organised for us in advance. We waited around 90 minutes for the busses to turn up then sat/stood for another 90 minutes on the bus without going anywhere. It was like a sauna and getting hard to breathe so we then lost more time when we forced the doors open to get some air. To be fair to the police they did themselves say that the organisation was awful. I would have expected a much more coordinated plan. We were all tired and frustrated by the time we arrived at the stadium. Once we finally got into the stadium it was like being in a war zone. The OM ultras are divided in French and Arab, with the latter having their κερκίδα next to the away supporters. The away stand has a lower and upper part. Our group was in the lower part. We were on the receiving end of D-size batteries, coins, flares, nuts and bolts - things that will certainly do a lot of damage if they hit you. Some our group were almost hit a couple of times. The managed to hit of us with a flare but thankfully it hit his cap and grazed his face. When this happened the arabs' reaction reminded me of the Sand People from Star Wars. Go to 1:18 of this video to see what I mean. They probably have the same IQ level too. They were then trying to break through the police line to get to us, which they did at one point and then had it out with some of our guys who jumped the gate to get to them. The way they just jumped into Nomansland without any backup could only mean that they were possessed with rage. I don't know any psychologically stable person who would do that. The entire game consisted of trying to watch our play, trying to sing in sync with the upper stand and looking over in the arabs' direction to check if they were throwing anything. Around the 40th minute I did something that I have never done before which was leave while the game was still going to go get water. I have only ever done this during half time. It seemed anyone who was queuing up was also ordering for another 10 people. I say queue but we all know cattle are more orderly than Greek people. While there I missed Payet's wonder goal, which would have probably been the best goal that I had ever seen live. It gets much worse though. Another clown was trying to speak French instead of just ordering in English and kept adding things to his order, which confused the canteen staff completely. This whole ordeal took 15 minutes, which then meant that ended up missing our goal. At that point I just left and went back to the stand absolutely devastated. I have never missed a PAOK goal and it especially hurts because it was a nice goal against an opponent like OM. This was the first and last time that I leave the game while it is still ongoing. On a more positive note, I could not have asked for better company. Scotsman is a great away day partner. Not only did I also meet some new people but I also saw PAOKia who I hadn't seen for 6+ years. We also had a really nice walk around town and lunch in the sun on Friday with some people who were meeting for the first time. I realised that is the beautiful thing about supporting a club - it is so easy to become friends with people who you have never even met before. Joints and drinks are shared without any hesitation. Stories of other away days are told, while many laughs are also had. I can definitely say that the social side of this away trip was absolutely fantastic. I also realised that I have a subconscious 'addiction' to the sound of the drum. While waiting for the busses to come we were singing some songs and one of our guys started hitting the drum. Anything I was doing or any thoughts I had became instantly irrelevant while the singing became louder along with jumping like a maniac. Looking ahead, I think we can beat them. The first twenty minutes of the second half (although I should say 15 minutes as I missed the first 5) were enough to convince me that we can match them. Their supporters have also cancelled their trip to Thessaloniki so it will probably be only PAOK fans. We must sell out the stadium and help the team by singing as loud of possible. I'm not going to lie - I am still pretty down about missing our goal so if anybody has any ideas to help get over it then please feel free to share. I know there are more serious things in life but this is still disappointing. Sorry for the long post.

I didn’t see the game, but I’m guessing we are blaming the 15th coach in the last 7 years instead of players lack of talent again?

I wish I never read that 😩

Well if we know one thing, Greeks are horrible gamblers. All the ones I know, including myself, lose at the casino!

I say: accept this punishment and hush. Then start demolishing gate 4 like Barça kicked out "Boixos Nois" and make us a club to visit with the entire family that buy tickets instead of those "dsabatzides" that try to enter the stadium together with you. And put some 7 ft monsters at the gates to check flares and other stuff.

Guys give this a read he explains everything JVS has done from nations league to the World Cup qualifiers. He is spot on. https://hellasfooty.blogspot.com/2021/11/same-mistakes-keep-costing-us.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR04RAqwyd9BtwuJjAcTUMjYSNY8k0JahoDhb9v9VYI4pVdHi7TZsfpTthI

No clean sheet ..again.. I am tired of saying it and so are many others. The reality is what we need is is a coach who can handle all personalities and put our best on the field mixed with the youth as well. Having Manolas and others today could have made a difference defensively.

I thought Sokratis and Manolas declined invites to the ethniki. He said as much in last interview. Siovas should have been called up.

The thing is, we do have a lot of players who play in same positions and are left out because the coach is picking players he needs to cover different positions both in the starting line up and on the bench. However, calling up Stafylidis and Koutris both LBs, and who are not regulars at club level, and then not picking say someone like Kyriakopoulos who plays each week at Sassuolo in Italy Serie A is hard to understand. Unless, he’s worried we’re going to need more defensive muscle in midfield. I would have left out one of Stafylidis, Koutris, and brought in Kyriakopoulos and replaced Mantalos or Vrousai with Kolovos whose in form at Sheriff, and proving he can match intensity in UCL. I think Kolovos would be a better backup for Bakasetas. Saying that, we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes, so there may be other factors impacting selections. As it was noted, we need to go for the win in these next two matches.