MelbourneGreek
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Posts posted by MelbourneGreek
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we all know the game should have been closer, we gifted them their 1st and 4th goals. Good teams can take advantage of mistakes.
We had a few really good opportunities to turn it back to 4-2 or even 4-3, the SOkratis chance in the 2nd half and the final play of the game, an simple pass to mitro would have secured the goal.
This is what seperated the two teams on the day, we needed a cool head during the tough times.
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If most of the croatian team team is on a yellow, can some of the players miss the second leg?
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This team 18 months ago would not have been able to defeat Croatia, but through the hardships the players had faced, the lack of Euro's, has helped them all gel together. Gone are the uptight and c*cky players like Holebas, we have a strong outfit who can break down the weak croatian attack, but with the right movement forward, their defence will peel open.
I have no doubt that we can pull of 1-2 goals tomorrow.ZHTO H ELLAS!
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typical FIFA bullshit. When a elite class player time wastes, they do nothing. A player takes some time off the clock, sacrificing himself for the NT, sits out for the other game and is then dissalowed for the away leg.
Good thing we have depth in defense. K Paps will get his chance to show how good he can be.
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there are obvious injury issues, we are all aware of them.
Manolas is shaky, Donis is out and toro looks unlikely,
I think Skibbe will be contemplating who to call up to replace those players, Our core team will remain the same.
I do hope Pelkas and Gianiotas get called up, they would provide some pace of the bench
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10 hours ago, Dean97 said:
I hate to break it to everyone but the likes of Fetfatzidis, Kone and Pelkas won't get get called up. Especially the first 2. Lazaros will likely take Donis spot. Zeca and Samaris will probably start also. I hope Fortounis plays the game of his life against Croatia. We need him to step up.
I agree, but the experience those players have is second to none, especially Kone, he knows what it takes to make it to a world cup.
I would like to see Pelkas get called up, he has some decent technical abilities,
Lazaros is also a good shout, but Donis is the real talent which we will miss out on
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So far the squad is looking solid for the next game, i hope we see either fetfa or kone put up onto the bench, it will be interesting to see who skibbe is going to call in for that cool headed player if the game gets tough
as for the perfomance, i would hope they try and go hard away and seal of the game at home, even a 1-1 or 2-2 draw away will be seen as a win for us, getting a goal at home will be straightfoward and with the fans behind us, the Croats are not going to feel welcomed to say the least
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1 hour ago, georgelaz said:
Mitroglou
Fetfa Fortounis Donis
Tachtsi Zeca
would be nice up top.
Whatever, Staf up top and Tzav in the back is basically as good.
we'll see what kone can do at AEK. if he can get form he'll be useful but it will tough for him cause he's a quasi cf/cam. Fortounis and Karelis are both younger and better than him at the moment. Kone circa 2014 though was BEAST.
Kone played EXCELLENT in the 2014 World Cup. He helped allot in us getting out of the group stages.
If he gets his form back, he will be a sure starter
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18 hours ago, J1078 said:
I was being sarcastic when I said we have a potent offence.. I'm saying we have a hard time creating so why not bring in some guys that are in form and can score to come off the bench..I'm for giving the guy a look but I'm also sick of talking about it because Skibbe won't give him a chance. Kone last I heard signed with AEK but not sure if he's playing regularly..
Makes sense now. Much harder to detect sarcasm on a forum ahaha.
In terms of Kone, Fetfa etc, I would also like to see more of donis and ganiotas coming off the bench, these boys have talent. But, the experience that Kone and Fetfa have is second to none, Fetfa is constantly one of the better players in the Saudi League, if Skibbe is playing Tzolis, why not Fetfa?
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51 minutes ago, J1078 said:
We have such a potent offence where we can afford to not have a look at guys with some skill.. That's ridiculous give the guy a look what harm can it do. for guys that keep calling this kid fat go have your eyes checked.. Plus id love to eventually see Kone on this team if he starts playing regularly.
i wouldnt call out attack "potent". I do think if Fetfa and Kone can make the cut, we would look soo much better up front and it would give us more options as well. For example.
Fetfa - Fourtounis - Stafl
Mitro
and
Mantalos - Fourtounis - Kone
Mitro
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7 hours ago, Boxou said:
first of all why do you think i want tziolis getting called up? i have bashed him and skibbe for that reason many times.
and please STOP with fetfatzidis obsession. he's like 25 YEARS OLD and there's no SANE CLUB which would like to sign him. HENCE HE'S PLAYING IN SAUDI ARABIA. at least tziolis played football in paok and a good panathinaikos team and reached 32 before going there.
regarding the 'best talent to come out of greece' argument about fetfatzidis i'll just try to insist and not laugh.
ps kone would be a great addition to this team but the dude missed the whole offseason and has no games with aek even in the cup.pity.
what is kone doing with himself? havent seen him play for a while. He would be a great addition to the squad, he allways plays well for the NT
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1 minute ago, Ellada2004 said:
Hopefully Torosidis is ready to go in the first leg. As for Croatias forwards they will find it difficult to find space with Sokratis and Manolas on them. Mandzukic is good but he is no Lukaku. Defensively Croatia are no where near what Greece has to offer. Lovren, Vinda, strinic etc can be exposed, Lovren with Liverpool at Tottenham had a really rough match, he costed his team a goal when Loris through the ball over him and could not recover to get back into position. The key will be not allowing Modric to have time on the ball as he has such great patience and vision. Hopefully we keep them off the board in Zagreb and we hit them for a goal.
Modric, Rakitic and Kovacic all do provide attacking threat as well. We all know that Mandzukic isnt the best striker and our two CB's will have them under control. The two Dms will have to act as that 2nd line to stop the secondary attack of Rakitic and Modric. We will need to play carefully
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I do agree that the squad has gelled over the last few games, more and more players are coming out and saying how proud they are to be greek and its really heartwarming, but we all know how tough the playoffs are compared to the group. We showed fight against Belgium and stole some points but Croatia is going to be another beast altogether. Zeca will be a defiant starter, the other DM will be either Samaris, Tzolis or Tachtsidis.
Tzolis played decent against Gibraltar and Cyprus, but they are both mediocre teams. I wouldnt be too opposed to starting him given the other two havent shown much promise.
Also, Toro will be a big loss for the first leg, hopefully he will be back for the Athens leg.
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53 minutes ago, tantra129 said:
SOOOOO TRUE
are people so blind to insist on this?
He has not played. He is out of form.
How can you ask the impossible of him?
Regardless that he has played pure s%$#! the last 3 years, how can you demand a player to start in a wc barrage that has 1 game at his feet I 6 months ???
football iq = zero
Would you think Tachtsidis could take his place, we really do lack midfielders and correct me if im wrong, i dont think there are any up and coming starts in the midfield for greece either.
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1 hour ago, TheBigGoat said:
I disagree. Samaris, Mantalos and Fortounis are good players.
Samaris cant get a game, Im not sure if he has the right lead up and game minutes for such a big game for the NT
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SOCCER: Media in Croatia reported on Thursday there will be no away fans in the Croatia vs Greece play-offs for a spot in the World Cup finals, for fear of trouble. The first leg is scheduled for November 9 in Zagreb and the return is on November 12 in Piraeus.
WHAT??? -So weak
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We all know the strength of Croatia's midfield. Players like Modric, Rakitic and Kovacic are WORLD CLASS. Because of this, i do expect hem to have most of as the ball, most of the time. However, their attackers are not the best, Sokratis and Manolas should be able to keep them under control.
Having fast wingers like Mantalos and Donis? could help us win some counter attacks, as i doubt we will be able to create too much through general play. Mitro will need to find another gear even though the Croats defense is weak. Hopefully Zeca and Tzolis(god help us) or Samaris can break up the play. They would have to sit back
Our team
Karnezis
Retsos - Manolas - Sokratis Papa - Tzavellas
Zeca - Samaris
Donis - Fortounis - Stalf
Mitroglou
If we can play for a 1-1 draw away, I give us a good chance to win at home.
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32 minutes ago, Boxou said:
i suspect we might not see a 4-2-3-1 formation now. skibbe might try the same 4-4-1-1 he used for the belgium game
karnezis
torosidis-sokratis-papadopoulos-tzavellas
mantalos-zeca-samaris-stafylidis
fortounis
mitroglou
the most probable one in my mind
Surely Manolas gets the start
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5 hours ago, Blackhawk said:
The first game is they. We must not lose in Zagreb, and hope for one goal on counter attacks. Besides winning, a 1:1 tie would be an ideal result.
The away goal will be really important
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7 hours ago, J1078 said:
Even though Croatia have bigger name players I also am glad we avoided the Swiss. We tend to typically play better against better offensive teams that have a weaker defence. Lets be honest We are going to park the bus and try and defend like hell and try to frustrate them and hope we can attack on the counter or off a set piece. This is the way we win... Everyone can call it "anti football" or Ugly boring soccer" I say who gives a s%$#! we are who we are. We have a solid back end and we need to use it to our advantage.
We will do as such. The issue is if their midfielders like Modric, Rakitic and Perisic can get some space to create, Our defense could be easily exposed. Thats why we will look into keeping Zeca and Samaris/Tzolis(god help us) behind the ball, we can positon ourselves on some good counter attacks with Mitro, Donis and Fortounis
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Greece should have a good game away in Croatia. the croats do not have a strong play style on the international level, players like Modirc, Perisic and Rakitic are all top tier players but if we can play like the way we did against Belgium, we will be going to Russia.
For the first leg, it is really important that we get at least one goal to help us on away goals. even if we dont win, a 1-1 or 2-2 draw will be fantastic.
But, If we can get the win or not, the Greek supporters will make the visitors seem unwelcome at home, we will win the 2nd leg
ELLAS OLE!!!!
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Greece - Croatia ( Round 2, 2nd Leg - 12 Nov. 2017, Giorgos Karaiskaki, Piraeus)
in Greek National Teams
Posted
We have absolutely nothing to lose, better the boys lose 3-0 than win 1-0, give the game their all, try and put on some midfield pressure and expose the Croatian defense.
they should play better at home, if they can get a goal within the first 30mins, it will get very interesting