Argy

IF Pjanic is out, that is a massive loss. It is indeed as if Sokratis or Manolas were missing (just as in the game in Athens, mind you), I will give you that, but we are missing Kyriakos Papadopoulos who is almost at their level and a huge leader on the pitch. He is a natural CB but would have probably started at DM alongside Samaris or Tachtsidis, who are also both suspended. This is a depleted Greece squad coming into Zenica and I have a feeling Pjanic will be fit.

I'll give it a shot with my limited knowledge of pre-2000. This is based more heavily on their accomplishments with the ethniki, rather than at club level: GK: Karnezis, Nikopolidis, (fill in blank) DF: Sokratis, Manolas, KPapadopoulos, Kyrgiakos, Dellas, Seitaridis, Torosidis, Avraam MF: Tsiartas, Karagounis, Zagorakis, Basinas, Katsouranis, Giannakopoulos FW: Mitroglou, Gekas, Machlas, Charisteas, Salpingidis, Saravakos Alternatives: Samaras, Samaris, Kapsis, Fyssas, Nikolaidis, Anastasopoulos

Maybe Nikopolidis starting over Karnezis, but the rest seems right. I would have an attempt at drawing up an all-time 23-man roster, but I do not have enough knowledge of pre-2000 Greece.

He is considered elite in Germany; easily a top 5-CB in Bundesliga, probably top-3. He is the best player Greece has ever produced. Despite our lack of depth and skill in many positions, we are still in the midst of our most talented generation. Sokratis, Manolas, Mitroglou, Torosidis, Kpap, Karnezis would all be in Greece's all-time 23-man roster, most as starting XI. A case can probably be made for a couple of other current players as well.

Calling up Donis and any other in-form/budding CF is a no-brainer on a team that lacks in both depth and creativity up front.

By far our most exciting young talent up front. It's been a while since we have had someone with real potential like this. Interesting to see where he ends up and if he gets a call from Skibbe in a couple of weeks.

I just don't see him signing in Turkey. He is still young for a CB and when healthy, he is one of the better CBs in the league. His fitness poses a risk but his ceiling is still monumental. Hope he stays in Bundesliga where he belongs.

What a joke.

I hope he goes and represents us well abroad. It's been a while since we've been excited about a very young player with elite potential.

Sheriff, we were fortunate for the late goal vs Bosnia, but were unfortunate to eat the late goal vs Belgium. How fortunate were we missing a stud CB in Manolas vs Bosnia and now a top class CB/DM in Papadopoulos for our two most important matches (Belgium and 2nd leg Bosnia)? And now Samaris and Tax are out as well at the worst time. 3/4 of our big games were/are going to be played shorthanded. No luck here; quite the opposite. I say we have played well and are exactly where we belong.

Did you mean to say Belgium instead of Sweden?

Update: Most everyone improved POT 1: Portugal (8), Italy (12), Iceland (21), Rep. of Ireland (26) POT 2: Slovakia (23), Northern Ireland (26), Sweden (34), Greece (39)

@Rockafeller SkankYup we discussed this in a little more depth in the Road to Russia thread if you wanna take a look. We likely won't win the group after blowing the lead vs Belgium, but with some results in the upcoming matches, we can easily be a seeded team come playoffs and avoid the likes of Spain, Italy or Portugal.

Why didn`t he play?

Being seeded isn`t out of reach. If qualification ended today, Rep of Ireland would be seeded and they're ranked 24th. A string of results, coupled with the right nations finishing second in other groups can place us where we need to be when it's all said and done.

Its very difficult for a professional athlete to let his opponent win. Refs can turn games much easier (see Tachtsidis red card vs Belgium).

We could, but I think that Saturday was our best shot and we couldn't close it out. Weak red card did not help. Greece should concentrate on Bosnia and not dropping useless points vs Cyprus or Estonia.

I want to see him back in Europe, but he should be called up regardless of where he plays. He is possibly still Greece's most menacing player with the ball at his feet and does not even get considered for a friendly. Does Belgium have a problem with Axel Witsel because he plays in China? He is consistently in their starting XI and everyone knows the depth they possess in every position.

The only chance of that happening was if we had held on for the win on Saturday.

I know there is a long way to go and the picture will be much clearer after June 9th, but we are in line for a playoff and here is how that stands: POT 1: Portugal (8), Italy (15), Iceland (23), Rep. of Ireland (24) POT 2: Slovakia (25), Northern Ireland (35), Sweden (45), Greece (46) Even after rankings are updated for this round, the pots will look roughly the same. The current second place teams will certainly look different in November, but POR/SWI, ITA/SPA will be waiting in Pot 1. Priority is obviously securing a playoff spot, which will be a dogfight until the bitter end, but, as some other posters have brought up in other threads, it is paramount that we start climbing the rankings, and that may take scaling a couple of friendlies. The good news is that most of our negative results were bunched up two years ago and hold less weight moving forward, therefore victories in the next 6 months are crucial.

Great news, also considering we are missing two of our best. Hazard and De Bruyne are Belgium's most menacing players.

I was against Zeca being called up to our NT, but since he is here, he will be a motivated player and has great endurance. I think he should start.

Yea sorry, oversight.

5'9 for a keeper, that may or may not be exxagerated by an inch or two on paper, really hurts his chances of ever gaining the confidence of a bigger club or NT. The fact that he has made it this far in a respectable european league, coming from Greece and garnering the attention of a club like Feyenoord speaks volumes about his ability and tenacity. It would be nice to see him called up as 3rd keeper by Skibbe though. Greece is not very deep with talent at that position.

They are still in the relegation zone but only a couple of points behind several clubs ahead of them.