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Suggested Call Ups, Starting 11


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On 3/19/2023 at 4:59 AM, Dean97 said:

Regarding the call ups, I’m not totally satisfied with them. 

I don’t think players like Papanikolaou, Rota are ready to play for Greece. Tzavellas doesn’t need to be there as he’s old and we have better. Nikolaou plays Serie A every week and deserves a call up. Lykogiannis and Kyriakopoulos play in the league too every week and Lykogiannis scored and Kyriakopoulos got 2 assists recently. 

Players like Tzolis and Alexandropoulos can help this team massively in my opinion. Tzolis was fantastic recently for Norwich and Alexandropoulos is our best CM in my opinion. He should be there instead of Papanikolaou. Bouchalakis, Retsos and Chatzigiovannis haven’t played enough to justify a call up. Although I do think Retsos is good player.

What I liked was the inclusion of Fortounis and Konstantelias. Two players that can win you a game. Kotsiras should be there and Douvikas is top scorer for the Dutch league and should’ve been included for sure. 

Good points. Tzavellas should not have been called up this time around. He filled in well for the last wcup qualifiers but he hardly gets any minutes at AEK. Douvikas should be there 100%. I am excited too see Fortounis get the call up and I  hope he gets a lot of minutes.

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Bakesetas will be an automatic starter. I'm not saying i agree with this at all but to be honest the last campaign he produced for us regularly and was a big part why we won the Nations League. You can tell he has the Greek passion and he wants to win with the NT team. I need to give credit where credit is due. In saying that i would love to see fortounis in as I think he can become the main player that controls the game as his talent is miles ahead of players like Bakesetas and company and has the skill to really control the pace of the game and break down opposing defenses. Give Fortounis some capable wingers and a decent striker and i think the dynamic of this team drastically changes. Just my two cents

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1 hour ago, Brklyngrk said:

Bakesetas has turned it around.  Couldn't stand watching him start. Now I can see why he gets selected. Not saying that he is an automatic starter but definitely deserves a place on the team.

I agree, he may not do everything technically sound and he at times is very frustrating to watch but he's starting to turn out to be a leader and and produce regularly for this team.  So for the time being he deserves to be a starter. I more then anyone here has trashed him but he is starting to prove me wrong and i need to give him credit for how he's turned it around for the NT. I see the passion in him he has for the NT. In saying this i still don't think we are starting our absolute best line up. I think our midfield needs to change although Siopis is really working his ass off, and i think we have better options then Pelkas and Mantolas. I'm also hoping Fortounis starts to see regular playing time and think in tomorrows friendly would be a perfect opportunity to give him a chance. No need to have Pelkas and Mantalos play tomorrow we need to slowly move away from them and keep them as a bench option.

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2 hours ago, J1078 said:

I agree, he may not do everything technically sound and he at times is very frustrating to watch but he's starting to turn out to be a leader and and produce regularly for this team.  So for the time being he deserves to be a starter. I more then anyone here has trashed him but he is starting to prove me wrong and i need to give him credit for how he's turned it around for the NT. I see the passion in him he has for the NT. In saying this i still don't think we are starting our absolute best line up. I think our midfield needs to change although Siopis is really working his ass off, and i think we have better options then Pelkas and Mantolas. I'm also hoping Fortounis starts to see regular playing time and think in tomorrows friendly would be a perfect opportunity to give him a chance. No need to have Pelkas and Mantalos play tomorrow we need to slowly move away from them and keep them as a bench option.

Bakasetas has definitely produced good performances and contributed goals since the last wcup qualifiers and Nations League. I was a huge critic of his as well but what he lacks in technical ability he makes up with his work rate on the pitch and you can see how much he loves to play for Greece. 
I agree with you regarding Pelkas & Mantalos I think for the friendly tomorrow we need to see others in the midfield. Though I must say Mantalos has turned in better performances for the Ethniki recently

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No manager was willing to give Mantalos a chance as a central mid. Finally, Gus did that, not straight away either and with Petros' speed and smarts handles the position with ease. This new dynamic benefits the Ethniki with more speed in the middle of the park, especially as it  seems that the likes of Galanopoulos and Alexandropoulos have gone to an outerspace journey.

Edited by ausgreek
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Alright boys I thought we’d get a recap of events and our situation going here. 
 

The Gibraltar game was very exciting in my opinion and is a manifestation of the progress the team has made under Poyet. Time and time again we have lost or drawn against these minnows and hurt our qualifying chances. We have always fought the higher level teams much harder compared to the lesser teams in our groups and it’s been these lesser teams that have been what truely have held us back from qualifying the last 10 years. Look at our last campaign we start with a shock draw against Spain only to then draw with Kosovo and Georgia. We even beat Sweden our first match against them but these two draws were too much to overcome. 
 

Under Poyet we are treating the minnows like minnows. We attack attack attack and not let a team like Kosovo boss us all over the field. The nations league last year was a great example of how far we have come. I know these teams all suck but that’s not the point. The point is we are finally starting to beat the teams we are supposed to beat, and when it comes to qualifying for an expanded Euro competition ( excluding our difficult group this year since we are pot c) we have no excuse not to qualify if we beat the teams we are supposed to beat. 
 

The Lithuania game was a mix bag. It’s a friendly but I still would have like to have us win bcuz it’s LITHUANIA. However, the way we played was positive. We were attacking non stop and yes we did get unlucky at times. Overall I think even that game was a step in the right direction. If we fail to qualify from the group and the NL playoff for a 24 team euro will be a massive embarrassment, but we’ve been nothing short of embarrassing for the last 9 years. We have to beat Ireland both times and it is as simply as that.

 

The Dutch are historically an extremely inconsistent team. We can 100% catch them on an off day on one of our games with them. The optimist in me and our history against big teams leads me to quietly believe that we will shock France and tie one of our games. They just lost a World Cup final. That has to be emotionally draining and while they got up for their game against the Netherlands, I could definitely see them on cruise control during their second game against us. BUT AND I STRESS BUT none of this matters if we don’t beat Ireland. Plain and simple. They will play more open against us than they did against the Dutch in their 0-1 loss. We have to capitalize on that. 
 

I will cry tears of joy if I can watch my beloved Ethniki play a World Cup game here in the states in 2026, and qualifying for this euro and boosting our ranking and confidence is the first step in this goal getting realized. I am starving for us to be in major tournaments again. I remember screaming on the couch crying with my dad when Samaras scored that penalty against Ivory Coast. I desperately wish to feel that again and I cautiously believe that we have a chance at that with the direction we are going. PAME HELLAS

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  • 1 month later...
On 5/26/2023 at 12:11 PM, J1078 said:

Fortounis not selected by Poyet.. This makes no sense. He’s not even worth a bench spot..🤦🏻‍♂️
 

https://www.sport24.gr/football/ethniki-elladas-giati-o-poget-den-kalese-ton-fortoyni.10057591.html

When I heard that he wasn’t included in the team I was stunned!! Can’t understand it

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All media outlets are shocked that Fortounis has not been called up. This is a big mistake by Poyet. If Poyet doesn't want to start him he should at the very least be a bench option. This makes no sense, how do you leave one of our most talented players off the team.

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Poyet addressed it a few days ago and essentially said, he wasn't called up for these matches because in order to fit him in, the formation needs to be changed from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. It seems Poyet, as other managers before him at both club and country level don't like Fortounis' lack of work rate and discipline without the ball. He did make a point to say just because he wasn't called this time around doesn't mean he isn't in future plans. 

In a 4-3-3, Poyet wants his midfield 3 to press without the ball and track the opposition not just play with the ball. Bakasetas, Siopis, Kourbelis offer these things. Clearly he thinks Bakasetas offers enough attacking drive (with the wingers and striker) to create enough opportunities to score. 

Poyet also described Bakasetas as 'untouchable' atm in his current Ethniki form and it is hard to argue given his performances over the last year. 

Fortounis has long been discussed here and in the Greek media, he's a media darling and they are just as shocked he hasn't been included. Me personally, I see the reasons why but don't necessarily agree with his exclusion all together. 

Here's a link to Poyet's explanation in full for anyone interested. 

https://www.sport24.gr/football/apokalypseis-poget-ayta-eipa-sto-tilefono-me-ton-fortoyni-o-mpakasetas-einai-untouchable.10061489.html 

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On 6/1/2023 at 7:56 PM, Brklyngrk said:

Has the full roster been announced?

Οδυσσέας Βλαχοδήμος, Παντελής Χατζηδιάκος, Κώστας Τσιμίκας. Γιάννης Παπανικολάου, Δημήτρης Λημνιός, Βαγγέλης Παυλίδης, Σωτήρης Αλεξανδρόπουλος.

Earlier Poyet had announced the following players:

Αλέξανδρος Πασχαλάκης, Κώστας Τζολάκης, Τζορτζ Μπάλντοκ, Παναγιώτης Ρέτσος, Δημήτρης Γιαννούλης, Δημήτρης Κουρμπέλης, Γιώργος Μασούρας, Φώτης Ιωαννίδης, Δημήτρης Πέλκας, Γιώργος Αθανασιάδης, Λάζαρος Ρότα, Κωνσταντίνος Κουλιεράκης, Γιώργος Τζαβέλλας, Πέτρος Μάνταλος, Γιάννης Κωνσταντέλιας.

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Turkish league still has 2 games to play, so expect Siopis, Bakasetas and possibly Goutas to be called up in the next few days. As will Mavropanos, who is playing in the relegation playoffs for Stuttgart (they won the 1st leg 3-0 with Mavropanos scoring the opening goal). 

Giakoumakis and Douvikas (also competing in European play-offs in Holland) still haven't been officially called up. Would expect at least one, but surely both to be officially called in the coming days.

I expect a few of the initial call-ups to be dropped from the above list that Dutch has posted. 

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Sport24 say Bakasetas sustained injury in the 2nd half today after scoring a beautiful goal in the first half. Our key players always seem to pick up injuries right before qualifiers. What does Poyet do now if he is not ready to go vs Ireland?

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We won't know for sure until he arrives in Greece and is checked out by the NT medical staff. This article is suggesting he's okay and should be fit to play the qualifiers which are 11 days away. 

https://www.sport24.gr/football/ethniki-elladas-ligei-o-synagermos-gia-mpakaseta-ola-deichnoyn-oti-tha-prolavei-irlandia-kai-gallia.10067469.html 

Edited by paokarag4
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Αναλυτικά οι κλήσεις της Εθνικής Ελλάδας: Αθανασιάδης, Πασχαλάκης, Βλαχοδήμος, Ρέτσος, Μπάλντοκ, Χατζηδιάκος, Κουλιεράκης, Μαυροπάνος, Τσιμίκας, Τζαβέλλας, Γιαννούλης, Ρότα, Μπακασέτας, Μπουχαλάκης, Κουρμπέλης, Σιώπης, Χατζηγιοβάνης, Παπανικολάου, Μάνταλος, Αλεξανδρόπουλος, Κωνσταντέλιας, Ιωαννίδης, Μασούρας, Πέλκας, Λημνιός, Γιακουμάκης, Παυλίδης, Φούντας.

 

Confirmation of the official call ups and more or less the same to call-ups from March. Poyet seems set on a group of players, I do question what someone like Retsos offers he had a poor season for Olympiakos. The only thing I can think of is that he gives some flexibility being able to play at right back and CB. Clearly Nikolaou isn't rated by Poyet for one reason or another. 

Douvikas would be feeling hard done by, he can't do much more to get a call-up. Again it comes down to Poyet having the core of his squad set and it is obvious he's trying to build club like chemistry but at the same time to not reward a top scorer of a top 8 European league is equally as dangerous.  

Bakasetas is fine and trained fully, so he will be available for both games. 

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Poyet: "If everything goes well in five days I'll be a good coach"

Speaking at the Media Day of the "blue and white", Federal coach Gustavo Poyet mentioned the preparation that our internationals have been making in recent days in view of the two clashes.

Gustavo Poyet stated in detail:

For both games: "In any case what we have to keep in mind is the game against Ireland. We need to win that match to have the chance to continue.”

On the match against Ireland: "It's a big step towards our goal, which is to qualify for EURO 2024."

For the fans: "The message is for the fans to be next to the team." "Lots of Ireland friends will come so we have to get next to the team, feel at home, support the players of the National Team and it's very easy when the stadium is full to beat any opponent."

For the players: "So far things have been very good. Everyone is so far ok and this gives the chance to pick the best for the starting line-up and stand on the bench. We'll also see on Friday when everyone will be here.

What the team has worked on: “We have worked on the basis of the two systems that Ireland has been playing in recent years. We want to defend and attack and be ready for both systems. And the main thing is that the team has to be in a position to perform on the field as Guardiola and Inzaki say."

On the exclusion of Douvika, Fortouni or Kyriakopoulos: "It's simple, when you're a coach in the National Team, you have the ability to choose who you think is the best at that time. If all goes well in five days, I will be a good coach, if we lose we will see what happens.

Congratulations also to Uruguay for winning the Mundial U20."

Edited by J1078
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  • 2 months later...

Does anybody have any idea when they’re going to announce to call ups for the September 7 game? I figured it would’ve been done by now. Also interested to see if Fortounis gets called up this time since he’s playing well.

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8 hours ago, J1078 said:

Does anybody have any idea when they’re going to announce to call ups for the September 7 game? I figured it would’ve been done by now. Also interested to see if Fortounis gets called up this time since he’s playing well.

Have not seen any squad announcement. 
Fortounis has been amazing the last few matches for Olympiakos! Would love to see him back. 

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