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Congratz to the PAOKtzides from Oz for slaughtering the galopoula! What a nice way to wake up (game ended about 8 AM here and I will watch the highlights rightaway).

Greetings from Maui, Hawaii. Happy New Year to all the forum members and all the PAOK fans. Also Happy 100th Birthday to PAOK in 2026.

So much more satisfying that goal difference is the first tie breaker. Never thought I’d be saying that for a low scoring team historically like us but I’m cautiously optimistic. BRING THE HEAT BOYS. THE 11 YEAR TOURNAMENT DROUGHT ENDS WITH THIS CAMPAIGN. PAME PALIKARIA

Really? Up until Feburary, we were absolutely playing the best and most attractive football in the league. Then injuries took hold and we have fallen apart since. Strongly disagree with that point as I do with saying the league was "down" in 2024. Olympiacos won a European title that season. We only just pipped AEK to win the title. Saying it was down is simply untrue and inidcates you either drink too much (likely) or are just desperate to justify your point (less likely but still plausible.) Not wanting Lucescu is fair enough, it is okay to not like him for whatever reason, but claiming we played ugly football all season is not true. We were lauded across the league for playing attractive football, we scored brilliant goals, were top of the table and were drawing comparisons to the great team of the 70's. Let me finish by saying, I don't think Lucescu should be guaranteed to coach next season. There clearly needs to be a review and assessment conducted. The jungle drums are rumbling and pressure mounting more than ever from fans and media alike. There comes a point when it is better to just shake hands and move on.

Bakasetas is hanging around for another qualifying campaign, you better believe that. He wasn't initially called up for these games but called up as a replacement once Konstantelias was injured, that doesn't scream to me well planned out goodbye testimonial. I maintain Bakasetas has a role to play(off the bench), and to a lesser extent Kourbelis and even lesser extent Masouras. The team's defensive issues can't possibly be laid to blame at Bakasetas' feet. We created a bucket load of chances, as you mention in an attacking sense we have really turned the corner. Defensively we have massive issues. Individual errors which need to be rectified by the players themselves but also our structure and system doesn't seem to provide adequate protection. Jovanovic needs to sort it out and ASAP. You can't be going 3-0 up with 30 minutes to play and the match turns into a rodeo. We must get better at seeing out matches and playing out time to get the result. Otherwise no matter how beautiful we play or how many goals we score, qualifying for a major tournament will remain a pipe dream.

The minute there’s a little hype around this team and they start pulling in crowds they lay a massive egg in big games. They did it with the game against England here, they did it against Georgia and now Denmark.

It goes without saying, this game will be far tougher than the one against Belarus. The Danes who have been mainstays at major tournaments for the last 7 or so years, have been able to build that solid record of qualification on a strong defence. They have been typically tough to break down and have had plenty of results by keeping a clean sheet. So it will be the first real test for our young guns and all their attacking flair. I expect Denmark will look to keep it tight and allow us to have the bulk of possession. Our attack has been blowing teams away, so an early goal and who knows. But I would anticipate a cat and mouse game. I don't expect Jovanovic to make any changes to the starting 11 that we saw today. Even though plenty (myself included) wanted to see Konstantelias instead of Bakasetas, you can't deny Bakasetas has performed time and time again for the Ethniki. He had another good game against the Belarusians, so I don't think he will be dropped for this one.

Looking at a Scottish forum. They clearly think we are the best team in the group. Hopefully we make their words come true…

This is how a big football nation that is serious starts their campaign against lesser nations. So far so good pame! Karetsas 3rd minute goal lol. What a start..

A win here & a tie in the Denmark - Scotland game would be huge

Squad for this match and against Denmark: Βλαχοδήμος, Μανδάς, Τζολάκης, Μαυροπάνος, Χατζηδιάκος, Ρέτσος, Κουλιεράκης, Ρότα, Βαγιαννίδης, Γιαννούλης, Τσιμίκας, Σιώπης, Ζαφείρης, Μάνταλος, Κουρμπέλης, Μασούρας, Πέλκας, Τζόλης, Μουζακίτης, Κωνσταντέλιας, Ιωαννίδης, Παυλίδης, Μπακασέτας, Καρέτσας, Δουβίκας.

Triantis officially commits his future to Greece!

Razvan would consider him too young though.

Just around the corner is our next opportunity to make a major tournament. There is no ifs or buts. We NEED to qualify. Due to our participation in Nations League A we will have an extremely high possibility of qualifying. If we finish top 3 in our group for nations league we will automatically be in pot 1 for the qualifying for the Euros. https://x.com/fmeetsdata/status/2075908457471906165?s=46&t=ASqPGJRrtcVRyVr8hMrtIg

Looks like Lucescu's time with us is coming to an end, has been mooted for almost a month now. I think the writing has been on the wall for awhile. The Cup final loss was hard to stomach and the implosion against Panathinaikos which cost us place in Champions League qualifying no doubt sealed his fate. Although it's ending, he still leaves as PAOK's most successful coach ever and no doubt our most decorated. I have little doubt that he will return one day down the road, to steady the ship! Thanks for everything Razvan, you made us champions and returned us to the summit of Greek football! https://www.sport24.gr/football/paok-xekatharizei-oristika-to-thema-loutseskou-ola-deixnoun-diazigio-me-ton-roumano-texniko/

There is a diabolical scenario, where we win the title if PAOK, AEK and Olympiakos are tied on points at the end of the playoffs as we beat both in tie breakers. Current standings: AEK 67 PAOK 61 Olympiakos 61 R4: Olympiakos - PAOK tie AEK - Panathinaikos tie AEK 68 PAOK 62 Olympiakos 62 R5: PAOK - AEK (PAOK win) Panathinaikos - Olympiakos (Olympiakos win) AEK 68 PAOK 65 Olympiakos 65 R6: Panathinaikos - PAOK (PAOK win) AEK - Olympiakos (Olympiakos win) Final standings: PAOK 68 Olympiakos 68 AEK 68 I know it's almost impossible to happen, but I can dream.

The result was good in Hungary considering the lineup and missing our top players. Greece three matches now without a goal that is concerning.. Jovanovich needs to start our young promising players we cant keep stating this enough. Kourbelis should not be on this team PERIOD! Bakesetas cant be starting!!

After that Denmark loss, he hasn't coached the same. He pulled the kids early and turned to a few veterans that have no place on the team. He led a solid Nations League tourney and s%$#! the bed in qualifiers. There was no reason not to qualify. I think many of us would agree that our best line up was the one against Scotland in the Nations League, and we haven't seen it since. Tetteh/Pavlidis Tzolis Delias Karetsas Mouzakitis Zafeiris Giannoulis Mavropanos Koulierakis Vagiannidis Tzolakis/Vlacho/Mandas (pick one)

At least Mandalos retired and he won't play again for the NT. Time for Bakasetas and Kourbelis to be dropped from the team as well.

KALO PARADEISO STA ADERFIA MAS

Its a disaster! Here in Canada gonna have to listen to all the build up without our beloved Ethniki. A lot of these minnow footballing nations with no history will be here, including Canada and USA lol... I was so looking forward to going to the matches in Toronto if we were playing there or NYC. Just so ANNOYED! This is our longest tournament drought equaling the Euro 1980 to World Cup 1994. I have a feeling it will be longer. I really do not have much confidence in seeing us make Euro 2028 especially after Greece got this draw. We managed to f up the greatest draw possible getting Denmark the weakest pot 1 team and Scotland from pot 2 and we made a total mess of it. Qualification done after match day 4? Even Poyet got us to the playoff in the Euros and we finished a respectable 3rd behind giants France and Holland and competed until the very last match day. This is very similar to the Euro 2016 qualification debacle that was intitally over seen by Ranieri that tool. Now Greece are playing in A league of the NL its going to be tough to say the least to get a back up ticket for the Euro 2028 playoffs. Just PISSED!!

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

Our only chance now is getting 2nd as the chance at first is done. What looked to be a dream start by winning and having Scotland and Denmark draw, now looks to be a bad result for us. Would have been better if Denmark beat Scotland. To have at chance at 2nd and a playoff we need to beat Scotland twice and hope for at least a draw in Denmark. (Tough task) I’m still excited about this young team regardless of the result tonight. It’s by far the most skilled team we’ve had and as these kids grow together they will eventually learn how to handle these big games. We need to find a way to take 2nd I can’t handle missing another tournament..

Let's pump the break on all this negative talk. Konstantelias is uber talented, that is why PAOK is getting offer of $20M plus. We had not faced a team that was patient like Denmark and could counter like that. I am sure Jovanovic will see what we did wrong and fix it. We are a young team, these things take time..

This was a good lesson. We went away from what got us here. We beat England in Wembley and can't beat Denmark at home? Taking Karetsas out was the wrong move. Kourbelis should not start going forward.

What a game!! We look good!! When was the last time we could actually score goals like this…ever??? Remember when we had Santos, we had a good team but every game was 1-0…

Good call..

0-0 so far in Copenhagen I sense a 4th goal is coming for Greece soon

prwta8lhma kai kupello ston Purgo ton Leuko !

this one is my favourite. my entire futsal team wears it.

Because Ali is much better player, including World Cup experience. He should be in good shape for our first European games, since the Swedish league is in full force and he just took part in the World Cup games in the past few weeks. It appears that if we wanted Giakoumakis we would have to spend around 7 mil Euro. He was very good for us last season, but not worth 7 mil. Same goes for Gianoulis. There is no way I would spend 5 mil to bring him to PAOK.

No they don't. The Conference League Playoffs only work if someone from the top 4 (Championship Playoffs) wins the Cup. Since that didn't happen, the Conference League spot doesn't drop to 5th place. So Aris and co are playing for nothing but pride.

Today Zivkovic took part in full practice and Meite and Kenny in partial practice. Looks like all three will be in the squad for the game.

After this matchday we are safe for the Super League 2026/2027-season. #9 can only collect a max of 43 points in the regular season. We have 44. But with a deduction op points we can 😁

Olympiakos 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen FT

Tzimas who signed with Brighton over the summer for around 25 Million Euros, made his debut this morning in League Cup. He came off the bench in the 66nd minute and managed to score twice and grab an assist in that time as Brighton ran out comfortable 6-0 winners against Championship side Oxford United. It was the first time he had been included in the matchday squad, as he and Kostoulas had played for Brighton's Under 21 side in the first couple of weeks of this new season. It remains to be seen how often he is used in this upcoming season, it may very well be a season over development where he plays mainly in Cup competitions and off the bench. He has done his first team prospects no harm with his superb debut. His first goal is at 8.55 into the below video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C24yzJKC_4M&ab_channel=OfficialBrighton%26HoveAlbionFC

Yes I agree. We have two meaningless games left. He needs to put in all three of new call ups. We dont need to see Kourbelis, Bakasetas and Mantalos, we know what they can do. That being said starting lineup vs Scotland should be the followimg Vlahodimos Vaggianidis Retsos Koulierakis Giannoulis Zafeiris Mouzakitis Tzolis Kostoulas Karetsas Pavlidis Teteh, Triantis should be subbed on in the 2nd half

Too bad we (DA BEARS) don't play you this season as I would like the color commentary on that game.

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.

Jovanovic ain’t it

So far it is scheduled on Vix and Amazon Prime Video. Greek Soccer Schedules: https://www.facebook.com/Greeksoccerontv/

I have a feeling we will respond to our last 2 disappointing results and come out with a big win here. I think Zivkovic is due and will have a big game and we will get our Europa League campaign off on the right foot.

Yes it looked great after the draw avoiding Portugal and getting Denmark I was so happy but I still think Greece will win in Scotland and I can see us getting something in Denmark as we will be better prepared. Greece won in England we are the only country to win their in a competitve match in 2 years. Jovanovich is a great coach but he messed up the lineup by starting Kourbelis and then subbing off Karetsas and Konstantelias was wrong when we were chasing the game. I can see us getting second place but it will be hard to go through another playoff. Way to stressful but Greece have to get to the World Cup!

A 0-5 win in Malta for the lads in the first qualifier for Euro 2027. Pnevmonidis and Koutsias two goals each. Rallis completing the manita.

For those of us in the states, it may be carried on Amazon Prime...

One of the more interesting football accounts on twitter and instagram updated their direct qualification probabilities after yesterday's games. Before, Denmark was slightly favored to win the group. Obviously it is still early days but Monday will be potentially huge, one way or the other. This is probably the most evenly matched group (statistically) in UEFA qualifying.

Greece 4-0 Belarus HT Standing O from the crowd in Piraeus and deservingly so!

What a great day for Greek football! All three clubs have qualified in their respective leagues! That will boost it's coefficent points!

The amount of bitching I get from you is beyond belief!

Congratz! They did it!