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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..

Greece totally dominated Scotland 3 nil could have been 5. Karetsas will be the next Messi his talent is off the charts. What a finish. Konstantelias with a fantastic goal and performance. Zaferis, Tzolis, the whole team was incredible. Our team is loaded and will qualify for the World Cup and cause damage. Would love to see us draw Canada here or the USA and just have our way with them. lol.. PA ME ELLADA!!!!

This brought joy in my heart after I was gutted not to see Tentoglou get a medal in the World Indoor Championship. The Greek National Football Team was cooking from the start and the coach had massive balls to start most of his youngsters in a critical match. God bless Karetsas for choosing his countries main motherland over the country of his birth. His goal was out of this world!

I'd say we have the best squad we've ever had at the moment, so many exciting players Tziolis and Karetsas the stand outs. If we can't qualify for the WC now, I'd be very surprised. Btw I think Karetsas will be tapped up by a top club imminently.

Amazing performance. What a coaching call. 6 new starters a bunch of youngsters given opportunities. We have something to be excited about for the first time in 11 years

Hi everyone, I'm feeling optimistic about the national team and Greek football. We're seeing a surge of talented players emerge in the 18-22 age range, including Kostoulas, Mouzakitis, Tzolakis, Tzimas, and Vagiannidis. Add to that the likes of Konstantelias, Tzolis, Koulierakis, and Zafeiris, who are already making waves. With Olympiakos eyeing another European trophy and players like Pavlidis, Mavropanos, and Tsimikas shining abroad, it's an exciting time to be a fan. I believe it's time for Konstantelias to make a move abroad and for these young talents to secure permanent spots on the national team – the future is looking bright!

Top 5 in terms of victories all time? Maybe not due to the Euro run and WC wins, but definitely one of the most emotional

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

Diego says hi to all PAOKtzides.

Scorers Konstantelias, Karetsas and Tziolis. When you consider the fact the we also got Pavlidis and Ioanidis, this team has goals. There was a play where the Greek player passed the ball with the back heel, and the Scottish comentator says "well they're now even passing it with their back heel". Yep, that's right. I was looking at Tziolis, and thinking he's one of the more experienced players in the side. He's 23. Karetsas, looks so young. Probably just started shaving. What a great exciting talent. And to think, there are 3, 4 others waiting in the wings. Amazing. Konstantelias my man of the match. A goal, 2 assists. I love those dink passes that roll past defenders, nice technique. We could have scored 4, 5. Zafeiris, and Mouzakitis in the midfield. Vagianidis shutting out one of the best RBs in the world. Would you bench them for Bakasetas, Manatalos, and Rota in 4 months? I think that win was our 6th away win in our last 7 away matches. Nice record to take to the WC qualifiers.

Such a great win! It could’ve been more. I’ve been saying this for years… trust our youth! We looked so much better this game. The best players should always be in the starting 11 and it just so happens that our best players are our youngsters. This team that started should start again next game. Some of our experienced players are not good enough and don’t have the quality to make this team go to tournaments. Some should be on the bench and some not even included in the team.

Great win by Portugal we get Denmark a great draw for Greece. Denmark ranked 21st in the FIFA rankings, Scotland and Belarus. It is a dream draw compared with our last Euro draw which saw us get France and Holland! For the 2022 World Cup qualifying we had Spain so this is fantastic and it wont be easy but Greece have to get the direct ticket!

If this result holds up and Portugal wins, this will be the most favorable draw we've had in years for a qualifier.

Scotland 0-3 Greece FT Greece wins the series 3-1 and will be promoted to League A of the UEFA Nations League!

Now ranked 39 in the world. Moving in the right direction. They will get into the 20s this year. https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/men

FINAL GROUP B2 STANDINGS England-15(+13) Greece-15(+7) Ireland-6 Finland-0 I think when we saw this group, we always assumed England would win it, who knew it would come down to tiebreakers. That win at Wembley will always be historic. Good job ethniki. Let's get to that 2026 World Cup!

I am so pumped for 17 year old Olympiakos player Christos Moutzakitis to play for the Greek NT.

FIFA Rankings Update! Greece climbed 6 places after the October international break to 42nd thanks to wins against England & Ireland

I believe I saw that we had a 98% or 99% chance of being in Pot 2.

This coach has this team playing as a complete unit. They know when they need to defend as a unit and when to press as a unit. Pavlidis steps up for an injured Ioannidis and scores 2 goals and could have had more. What's more impressive is that we were able to go toe to toe and IMO outplay England. What a start to the nations league campaign. 1 Greece - 9pts 7GF 1GA 2 England - 6pts 5GF 2GA 3 Rep. Ireland - 3pts 2GF 5GA 4 Finland - 0pts 1GF 7GA

Greece moved up 6 spots they are now at 48.

Norway's win last night added 9 points to their ranking. Here is the breakdown as of this minute : 22. Norway (1472) 23. Czechia (1464) 24. Slovenia (1462.97) ----------------------------- 25. Greece (1462.55) 26. Scotland (1462) Top 24 are first two seeds. We dropped due to Norway's win. If we win today, we gain 6 points. If we lose, we lose 9. Draw and we lose 1. So basically we NEED to win today to move up to 23rd.

Still waiting for new Toumba, but in the meantime we can celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Toumba Stadium inauguration. It was September 6, 1959, when the Toumba Stadium was opened to the public for the first time with a friendly game against AEK Athens which was won by PAOK 1:0 with a goal by Kiourtzis. . The stadium capacity at that time was 15,000. Here is is aerial view of Toumba in 1959 and a pic of the PAOK - AEK friendly, the first game at Toumba Stadium.

Zafeiris looks like the type of 8 we’ve been hoping to have all these years. Skilful player that can help the attack. I’m hoping for the best with him. All these years we’ve should’ve tried Pelkas or Mantalos as an 8 to help with the fluidity in midfield and attack. Pelkas isn’t a winger he’s a midfielder. Same as Mantalos. Alexandropoulos I think is capable for that role at the moment. He can be a 6 and an 8. We’ve had Bouchalakis Kourbelis and Zeca all these years and it hasn’t worked. They are all DMs and all very slow. We should have always played a 6 and someone a bit more attacking next to him. Instead of just having two DMs holding and not contributing going forward. We have Konstantelias. Who is very talented. Especially on the ball. I hope he and Zafeiris work together well and if they do our strikers will get the proper service that is needed. It’s time to move on from Bakasetas. I’m sorry if it offends anyone but he was never good enough. He’s too slow and isn’t technically good enough on the ball. His decision making is not there either. He has a powerful shot that’s it. He’s been dropped to the bench for PAO. Fortounis should come back and take his place. Also happy to have Konstantelias as a 10 or wing depending on the formation. We have great strikers so we should be grateful for that. Tzolakis and Mandas are coming through in the keepers position which is helpful. Time to give Vlachodimos some competition. If we can get Karetsas aswell then we are cooking. I’m optimistic with the new coach I just hope he knows that Bakasetas needs to start on the bench from now on. Bouchalakis doesn’t deserve to play either so I hope Zafeiris and Alexandropoulos step up and perform like I know they can. Thought I give my view about the team. It’s been a while. I just want the best for the national team and Greek football as a whole. Thanks 🙏

Jovanovich mainly plays 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. He usually plays a possession game and tends to favor players who perform their defensive duties properly and work hard through out the 90 min. He has no problem using younger players (ex: Ioannides, Vagiannides) but he has shown a tendency to stick with certain players who may not be in form. Of course this is based on what I saw at PAO and the NT is a totally different beast. At least he won't have to worry about transfers or being screwed over by the owner and media. The main thing he brings, besides experience, is a logical thought process in the game (being able to identify and play to the strengths of the players available) as well as plain speaking, honesty, creating a tight team mentality and a refreshing dignified approach to dealing with the media. He is, imo, a very capable manager who is able of getting the most out of his players. Best of luck to him.

Like I said, easy. ?

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

Big success for PAOK's basketball team, which qualified to the final of the FIBA Europe Cup after defeating Cholet BC 90:88 in France erasing the 1 point deficit from the first semifinal game (88:89) in Thessaloniki. After 29 years PAOK BC will play once again in an European final: 16-Apr-2025: Bilbao Basket - PAOK 23-Apr-2025: PAOK - Bilbao Basket

It is just WILD to me that people were agonizing over who to play in midfield, to counter the Scots. Like, are you kidding me? Siopis and Mantalos? Were they hiding some deep well of skill all these years that we've never seen before? Get real; Zafeiris is looking great and can be the backbone of the team for years. Can't fall into the trap of not letting new people play, because when they're finally the vets, they will not have gained any experience with the team...

The order of the games suit us well : H - Belarus H - Denmark A - Scotland A - Denmark H - Scotland A - Belarus First 3 games must be wins. If we do that, just a tie in Denmark should be enough to see us as group winners

“According to multiple news sources Konstantinos Karetsas has been called up for the Greece national team against Scotland in March. The rest of the squad is due to be announced”

We are looking good to be in pot 2 for World Cup Qualifying. The draw for that is on the 13th of December.

We've passed the point of no return. We won in London, we now HAVE to win the group!

I'm honestly shocked. What a historic performance from the NT and especially considering George news so recent. I felt we were capable of this performances now but awesome to actually see it. What heart and character we have to get this win. I thought to myself typical English squeak out the draw we should be up at least 1 goal, as they had chances as well. But they pulled it off and delivered the deserved full points. Pavlidis gets the call and delivers the performance. We are busting with attacking options and depth and Ivan has them on a mission looks like for this performance at Wembley. Will do wonders for our ranking and our World Cup chances!!

Pavlidis should have gotten a hat trick, no way he was offside for Greece's second goal.

The 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League begins for the ethniki. The ethniki returns to Piraeus for the first time in 7 years, first game in League B, and the first match under Ivan Jovanovic.

This is just the beginning. I’m hoping for the best. I just wanted and expected changes in the line up in the beginning. I just hope the coach realises now we need younger personnel in place of the likes of Mantalos, Bouchalakis etc. I just hope it’s not a reoccurring theme where we play the old guard continuously when we know these players haven’t helped Greece make a tournament. Good result can’t complain too much. Now let’s see what happens in the Ireland match. Thanks re maik.

Great points. Bakasetas should be utilized as a sub going forward. I admire his dedication to the NT but he isn’t in good form. He had a very good Euro qualifying campaign with some nice goals and good link up play but his performance in the match with Georgia was very disappointing. He made way too many errors and sloppy passes and he did not even break a sweat. Also he missed his penalty which is a rarity. Mantalos should not be getting anymore call ups. With all these talented young mids we have the future looks bright especially given the plethora of strikers we know have. Greece went years without having an option at the #9 when Mitroglou left. I am really looking forward to see how we play under Ivanovich. He has even opened the door for Fortounis to come back in the October window.

You sir, are hardcore! Ivan the Terrible comes to Thessaloniki, pays off our 10 million euro debt (do you remember that?) increases the player budget I don't know how much but it must be 3 or 4 fold, has built the best youth facilities in the country, makes it so that we are genuine contenders each season, wins us 2 championships and 4 cups and you reaction is ... where is the stadium ha ha. Good lord, will you ever be thankful? I guess if not by now, then the answer is no. Maybe one day you'll get your wish and Ivan the Terrible will leave. And then you will see what happens. If you're not sure go and speak to a Panathinaikos fan. Once they chased away the Vardinoyiannides that were putting in the money for all those years they haven't won a championships since then. At the time though the fans were all giving each other high fives about how hardcore they were. I think even if the stadium was built you'd would still complain. If the club ever gets sold to someone with money, hey, I won't be upset but in all our illustrious history only one person has put in big money so I ain't holding out much hope. It's not like there's a massive queue of people hanging to buy the club.

We are the champions .... I am drunk from happiness right now. This is the 4th PAOK championship in my lifetime. Hope there will be more. I was wearing the PAOK jersey with Vieirinha name on the back during the game. I think I will keep it on going to a Greek church picnic later on.

Red Cards to both benches. Won't affect anyone on the field. Also not sure the Poyet hate? He's gotten us a chance to get into a Euro, more than any of the last 3 coaches can say. Can't keep rotating coaches.

Kind of ugly, but Hearts is not much of an obstacle. If we don't eat them alive in Thessaloniki, the heat will do the job for us. Hot takes: weak-ass penalty given to Hearts Murg > Konstantelias Brandon Thomas has only his workrate and teammate injuries keeping him employed Team was consistently way too goddamn cute with trying to let passes go by them. Bit them on the ass like six times. Tzimas actually held up the ball and attacked....better than I thought? I bet Lucescu was pissed he got all that stoppage time to play in. Soares was fine, but Rahman is a menace; will be great to see him back We definitely need a winger. Taison can't start every game, and Zivkovic eventually needs to be rested. Narey is more concerned with staying uninjured than he is interested in playing for this team.

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

You guys may like this podcast from Hellas Football https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hellas-footy-pod/id1536595945?i=1000614612222

G'day m8, throw another koala on the barbie!