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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.

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.

Just on the bolded part. Of course he has a say but the board doesn't always follow through. We know he wanted Meite, they wouldn't stump up the extra 200-300k needed to give him the salary he wanted. You know Lucescu wanted Chatzidiakos in the summer right? Deal was all but done, player was on his way to sign. Then at the last minute PAOK tried to change his wage by knocking off 100-200k and he said see ya later I am going to Denmark. None of these instances are Lucescu's fault. It is the club letting him down and leaving us with players who are worse (Lovern/Colley) or no one at all in the case of Meite. I don't disagree with your next point, but you're all too keen to tear something down that has literally won us a third of our trophies in our history. I have said it before and I'll say it again. We are talking about Greek football, Jurgen Klopp isn't banging down the door to take over when Lucescu leaves. The next in line is probably a Portuguese or Spanish manager who we've never heard of, who has never coached at a big club or if he has had an unsuccessful stint there. The alternative isn't a world class coach. Lucescu isn't perfect and I agree with you guys that some of his player selections and behaviour (this particularly annoys me) leaves a lot to be desired. His time will come but I don't think that it is now. Just my opinion of course. He is being under resourced so I refuse to COMPLETELY blame him for what has been up until now a poor season. He can't rotate the squad, because there is no quality there. Ozdoev and Camara have been run into the ground. We have one CB who is trustworthy, the other 3 either are error prone or can't pass a ball to save themselves. So yes that allows any team, even Volos and Kallithea to take advantage and get results. We are clinging on in the title race by a thread and as if the Slavia game already wasn't big it is now huge in the context of our season.

We've been drawn to face Scotland in the play-offs for the Nations League. First leg in Greece, return in Scotland a few days later.

Keep in mind that PaokCT thinks himself a television pundit, so wants to stir up engagement. Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out how to monetize that yet. If you'll recall, he said Lucescu should be fired like six times last season, too. It is absolutely vital that Lucescu be supported by PAOK's administration. He's won with worse teams, and the first half of every season is always bad. It'll turn around.

Great to Mouzakitis included. Also great to see Alexandropoulos back in this team. 👍

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

With that result we clinch top 2. Meaning we will at minimum have a playoff shot for league A. Also we have a 98% shot at being in Pot 2 for WCQ. And if we top this group , we will be guaranteed at minimum a playoff spot for WCQ

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!!

That was one of Greece's best attacking performances in quite a long time. We showed true grit to keep playing despite all the setbacks of disallowed goals, goal that looked to have crossed the line, dodgy decisions and biased refereeing. Glad the players were able to do it for Baldock and the nation.

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

We should get Karetsas. Great option to have on the wing and CAM. He can score goals too. There’s a player named Antonis Papadopoulos who has German citizenship at the moment. Don’t think he is the answer but he plays CB and CDM. He could provide good cover when needed. We lack a physical number 6 and he seems physically strong and a great tackler. Played at Dortmund (mostly for the 2nd team). He now plays at Lugano in Switzerland 1st division. He plays regularly according to transfer market. Just an another option I guess. By the way, you created a great topic. 👍

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.

The Jovanovic era has officialy begun. Ioannidis (24), Koulierakis (20), Konstantelias (21), Zafeiris (21), Tzolis (22), Vagiannidis (22). There was time when If you weren't 25 you weren't allowed on the field. Nice start for Jovanovic.

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.

Curios to see who Jovanovic calls up and what style he prefers to play. Is he going to play it safe and have a very similar line up we've seen under Poyet the first couple of games. Most important here is we take 2nd in the nations League as England will most likely advance directly through the world cup qualifiers. We need this 2nd chance as our current FIFA rankings will most likely not give us a favorable draw in the qualifiers.

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.

The men’s national basketball team has qualified for the tournament for the first time in 16 years!

Guys I missed you! Even you @pash

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.

I'm f***en gutted. Speechless. Which is rare for me. I was so naïve yesterday thinking its a done deal. I really thought there was no way in hell we were not going to win this game. I wasn't expecting a blow out but a 1-0 or 2-1 hard fought Hellas victory was a sure thing in my mind. Once again, I was brutally wrong. This team has let us down once again. I simply don't get it. There are other "smaller population" countries in Europe such as Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Holland, etc. that field competitive teams annually. Even the blockhead Albanians qualified directly. I simply don't understand. That was one of the worst performances I've seen from the Ethniki and I've been watching every game since the 1994 World Cup debacle. Countless backwards passes, no urgency, no desperation, playing in fear against a Georgia...come on! Gutted.

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.

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 ??

Exact 40 days to go. This one-legged match is a must win game. Winner faces an away game either in Georgia or Luxemburg for a spot in Group F of Euro 2024. Who is on fire? Who not? Perfect lineup to do the trick?

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.

I read online that Kazakhstan is missing one of their starters due to suspension for our game, and Georgia is missing one of their best players for the game vs Luxemburg.

Considering we haven't made a major tournament in years this team is in no position to take any team lightly. This wont be an easy match and they better not start looking to the final match before this game is over. Kazakhstan will not be an easy out. In saying that we have a golden opportunity to finally make a major tournament and if Greece cant come out on top against Kazakhstan, Georgia or Luxemburg than we really haven't progressed at all under Poyet. We need to now take that next step.

Our biggest game in almost 7 years. Still over a month out but some things to keep an eye on in terms of player availability/form. -Tsimikas returned to the Liverpool bench and was subbed on to a play the last few moments on the weekend. He is fit again which is good news. -Chatzidiakos, since Christmas has only played 45 minutes for Cagliari in Serie A. He last had a full 90 on the 2nd of Jan, in a 4-1 cup defeat to AC Milan. As one of the prefered CB's it is a concern. He was hurt in training over the weekend, not sure on prognosis at this stage but assuming its minor Poyet will have to a decision to make if we get to this game and he's still riding the bench. -Vlachodimos: Nottingham Forest brought in another keeper, so he's effectively been relegated to 3rd choice. New keeper (Belgian Metz Sels) hasn't been setting the world on fire, which hopefully means Vlacho will get another shot at some stage. He hasn't played a Premier League game since early December and last played all-together in the FA Cup almost a month ago. Again Poyet will have another decision to make if he continues to not play come March. -Baldock has been injured the last month or so, I believe he is expected to be fit for this game. If fit he is a starter for Sheffield United, so if his body is right he will come with some game time under his belt. -Kourbelis was loaned to another Turkish club (Karagumruk) in January, and was injured after one game. He returned over the weekend and played some mins of the bench. Hopefully he continues to play over the next 5 weeks and is in some good form come the 21st of March.

This is a perfect draw, I fancy Greece's chance to promote to League A

After the win vs England we are currently 46th in the live rankings. If we beat Ireland I think we can jump to 44/45.

Ireland 0-2 Greece FT

Here are some fun facts that nobody will care about: I was curious about Guinea (where our next signing is from), so I read its wikipedia article. It mentions a dictator named Toure, which I'm sure many of you recognize as the last name of many professional players. So I look up the surname Toure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touré), and learn it may be descended from the name Elephant. Perhaps to indicate a person who was big and strong? Anyway, that article mentions the language of the Ghana empire, so I look at that article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana_Empire). In that, I see that Ghana means warrior, or war chief. And right under that, I see that Wague is a term for nobility. So we basically managed to destroy the career of a king! I tried looking up Kamara and Camara on the same page, and got no definitions. A chat bot I just asked states that those two names are not necessarily related to each other, but that Kamara means "teacher" or "scholar" in some languages. Thank you for attending my TED Talk.

Boys this game isn't going to be easy. That stadium is going to be electric and the Georgian team is looking to make history in front of there fans. They sold out the entire stadium in 5 hours 54K. Greece needs to try and get an early goal to take the crowd out of it early. its going to be a tough game. Αμόκ στη Γεωργία για το ματς της ιστορίας της: Σε πέντε ώρες εξαντλήθηκαν τα 54.000 εισιτήρια για τον τελικό πρόκρισης στο Euro 2024 με την Ελλάδα (sport24.gr)