Dean97

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.

I was impressed with the team's performance in the second half. Karetsas was outstanding and deserves a starting spot in the next game. However, I felt that some of our more experienced players underperformed. Siopis, despite his energetic efforts, struggled with passing accuracy and decision-making. Mantalos seemed sluggish and failed to provide sufficient support with his forward passes. While Mantalos showed promise, his execution was lacking. In my opinion, Tsimikas is no longer an effective player, and it's time to consider replacing him. Similarly, Masouras had a slow start and was correctly substituted at halftime. Konstantelias, on the other hand, brought a refreshing energy compared to Bakasetas. Delias's ball control is a valuable asset to the team, and Karetsas's talent enhanced the team's overall performance. Tzolis was unfortunate to miss his chances, but he, along with Delias and Karetsas, should be considered for starting roles more often. Although I liked the substitutions, something was missing. It's clear that we need to upgrade our midfield. With Siopis suspended for the next game, I'd like to see Alexandropoulos given a chance. Alternatively, Zafeiris would be a decent replacement. I've heard criticism of Ioannidis, but I believe he's a valuable player. His pressing, timing, and positioning are excellent, despite an off-day with ball control. I'm confident he'll bounce back in the next game. For the upcoming match, my preferred lineup would be: Tzolakis Vagiannidis Mavropanos Koulierakis Tsimikas Mouzakitis Alexandropoulos Karetsas Delias Tzolis Ioannidis

Tzolakis for sure should start. Most inform player. Mandas 2nd choice and Vlachodimos 3rd choice now. Still would have Vlachodimos on the squad. He has experience and would be able offer something still. But yeah Tzolakis should be the 1st choice now.

Is he any good?

This is huge! I hope to see him play in March.

Agreed. Tzolakis the best Greek goal keeper right now. Vlachodimos can be called up as back up I don’t have a problem with that. Mandas also playing a lot lately.

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!

Karetsas to PAOK? I think he’s staying at Genk for now. Also Stefanos Tzimas is one for the future. Haven’t seen him play too much just mostly seen his goals. Big clubs are after him so it’s promising. As long as he replicates the style of play of Ioannidis for the Ethniki such as intensity and work rate then we will fine at the strikers position. For me Ioannidis is our best striker. The way he plays for Greece should be appreciated. Full of energy and gets involved. Also scores goals for Greece too. At the moment he is out of form but when he is on he is on.

If Karetsas does decide to represent Greece, does he go straight into the first team or u21s? Keen to hear what people think about it. He does get game time for his club. He just turned 17. If it was up to me I’d put him in the first team. Reason being that he is talented enough and also locks him up for the team.

Ioannidis for me is our best striker. He just gets it. Runs a lot and goes above and beyond. He also has the ability. Pavlidis is too hit and miss for me.

I agree. A 0-1 loss would’ve been easier to accept but at the same time conceding that many goals at home in front of a sold out stadium isn’t acceptable. Time to move on from Bakasetas. He doesn’t cut it for me. Also Rota wouldn’t be first choice at RB. We need Konstantelias, Tzolis and Ioannidis all starting together in my opinion.

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

📰 Genk midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas has started the process to obtain a Greek passport & will decide soon whether he represents Greece or Belgium. Heerenveen striker Dimitris Rallis is also considering his options 🇬🇷 (@sport24) #Greece #Ethniki This is from the Hellas football page. Good news so far. 👍

What happened there lol. That’s what I thought too. Maybe Koulierakis was aiming to kick it out who knows. Was surprised the referee didn’t call a penalty. All in all so happy for this victory. Pavlidis best game ever for Greece. As a team we looked solid and everyone helped each other. Can’t ask for more after this win they all played for each other and Jovanovic is proving to be a great coach for us. This was for George Baldock🙏

I think if Fortounis ever wants to commit and put his heart into the Ethniki again we should welcome him back. He’s done a lot for Greece in the past and he is quality.

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. 👍

I think Jovanovic brought in Zafeiris to solve the 8 role in midfield. It will take time for him to get used to the team but for now he can be the solution. He’s 21 aswell so he can still get better. He’s our most highest valued midfielder in the country so that says a lot. We need to fix the 6 role. Bouchalakis is not playing for his 2nd division side and looks like he’s finished at international level. He’s declined in my opinion too. Siopis is a great ball of energy that can close down players fast but his lack of height is an issue. On the ball he isn’t that much better. Kourbelis plays in Saudi so his level will drop. We lack height in this position in general. Alexandropoulos is more of an 8 or 10. He can play the 6 role but I think he needs someone next to him. He’s got the height which helps. I would like to see him get 90 minutes for once. We have Thymanis and Nikas who play for PAOK and PAO respectively. But they don’t play. Which is an issue because we need to find a new defensive mid who plays regularly at a good level and someone with height over 5ft10. I don’t see players like Bouchalakis Kourbelis and Siopis being dropped for this reason. With Zafeiris being included now I hope we see Kourbelis and Bouchalakis dropped entirely. We don’t need both of them. I was thinking maybe moving Retsos or Mavropanos in that 6 role just so we have some height. Both decent with passing too but I don’t think this will happen. Zafeiris and Siopis seems to be the best combination for now for what’s happening now. Both are short which is a bit concerning but both play regularly and seem to be the best we have. We are very limited with options. After all these players I mentioned we have no one else with good enough quality or experience.

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.

Grateful for the result. But that was the worst line up I’ve ever seen. Was a let down. Bouchalakis is finished and hasn’t played. Chatzigiovannis is not good for this level and starts. Finland were awful. Luckily we had Ioannidis. Only one that wanted to play and looked lively. Scored 2 goals and contributed to the own goal. Bakasetas did nothing for me again. Tried to find positives in his game but nothing there. Fortounis need to replace him. I thought Tsimikas should’ve done better especially with his passing and decision making. A lot of players shouldn’t have started but it is a reoccurring theme with this team no matter who is in charge. Konstantelias was great as usual. Honestly I expected better. The players look flat I think mostly because 70% of the starting line up don’t play for there clubs. We also had no attacking intent. If it wasn’t for ioannidis then I think we would’ve drew 0-0.

@Ellada2004 and @J1078 Well said. We should give Ivan some time. I think this new regime at EPO are genuinely aiming to make Greek football and the national team improve as a whole. I actually think these selections seem the most logical and make more sense than previous times. For example 2 RBs and 2LBs.. I agree Bakasetas should be on the bench at least. I’m hoping if Fortounis comes back then he starts instead. We also have young inform players at the moment like Tzolis, Koulierakis, ioannidis and Konstantelias so I hope they are involved in the starting 11. I want to see Alexandropoulos start. I think he has something to give. Give him a full 90 and see where it takes us. Most of our midfielders if not all haven’t had much playing time so we need to start using different players to see what works. I’m expecting a 2-0 win against Finland. Pavlidis is in good form. I’m hoping he starts scoring like he does for club. I’m giving this new era a chance. what I want to see is this Tzolakis Vagiannidis Mavropanos Koulierakis Tsimikas Alexandropoulos Siopis Masouras Telias Tzolis Pavlidis I know Bakasetas is probably starting. But this is what I think the team should mostly look like. Zafeiris should make an appearance. We need him capped as soon as possible.

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 🙏

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/kkmRN5TXxd54bhRT/?mibextid=WC7FNe Jovanovic and the EPO making the effort in securing both Zafeiris and Karetsas. Both have talent. Good signs so far.

It’s encouraging to hear that most people think Jovanovic is good. But I’d like to know what type of coach he is and what formation he prefers. And also if he prefers the younger talent. If anyone can explain it that would be great thank you. 🙏

All I want to say is that we had 1 more match to win to make the tournament and they failed to do that. Smashing Kazakhstan 5-0 is great but it’s inexcusable to not beat a team like Georgia. Just to point out: - Tzolis 20 goals this season - Pavlidis top scorer in holland - Goutas and Siopis play weekly in the championship - Pelkas only played 5 games this season - Konstantelias best player with the ball and plays every week doesn’t start Core players like Bakasetas, Mantalos, Kourbelis and Pelkas have to be replaced. There is a core in this group that are not capable of taking Greece to the next level. Next coach has to see that. Defence and keeper did there job’s in both games. Can’t fault them for today’s loss. Questions have to be asked about the midfielders and attackers.

We looked like we played good football for a while and yes Bakasetas can hit them well from distance. I was mostly impressed with Ioannidis for the way he held up the ball and got into great positions and that finish was a typical strikers goal. Good on him.