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Greece vs Gibraltar (10 Oct. 2017, 21:45 EET - Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus)


Greekaroos

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Torontoblue,

you are just the kind of Psefto-Greekster I would NOT want to be watching a game with.

Yes "the guy" who knows very little about soccer, and does not understand the complexity of qualification for the world cup.

Look back to the dark era of Ranieri, and the divide amongst the national team. 

See a transformation of a team that has begun a process of being a family again, which is was first importance to Papastathopoulos. 

Whine all you want, but we are in second...and we control our destiny. Don't point fingers, don't ask questions, just accept that the boys got to a game that through victory will enter them in the playoffs.

I remind you Torontoblue and others who don't know what they are talking about....that there are going to be some very good sides that are also looking to punch their ticket via a playoff victory.

So forget about soccer, go follow the NHL and oooh and ahh over the Toronto Maple Leafs. But knowing what kind of Geladia you and the negative uninformed, self appointed critics of Skibbe and the National team players you are....

After Greece beats Gibraltar...then gets their match up for the playoffs. Know that the team and the players will give their all on the pitch. If Greece play any opponent like the two games they played Belgium, then I like that. I like that, and if the Gibraltar final game and a chance for the playoffs as a second seed would have been offered from the onset of this qualification I would take it gladly.

These teams are not going to Russia: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Moldova, Norway, Romania, San Marino, Scotland, Slovenia, Turkey

 

 

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Overall - I think we can all argue the campaign was an improvement over the Euro qualifiers.  Skibbe reunited the team and put in position to reach the World Cup.  Our team is built on defense, by design.  We do not have world class midfielders and are very thin in Strikers.  We are blessed at CB for the next 10 years (knock on wood), which is on par with the best teams in the world - not an exaggeration.   We need to improve our midfield but this game showed us how much we missed Mitro. We do not have anyone else who can do what he does up front.  Hopefully Donis keeps improving and him and Lazaro on the wings can open things up.  We have a real chance to progress, let's enjoy the moment.

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We are playing a minnow any lineup should be suffice. This game should be in the bag at 30 minutes no reason to struggle with them.

Why this manager rates Tzavellas is beyond me Stafylidis should be starting and Lykogiannis the 2nd. Tziolis at least rewarded him with a goal but his led legs couldnt get the offside which caused the 1st goal..if he continues to start we will get punished in playoffs way to slow and does not move the ball forward at all.

Maybe Mandalos best game.. Mitroglou is class lacking fitness..Fortounis was spot on with deliveries...We will need to be razor sharp when the KO games come..Tzavellas is a liability..a back 3 of Sokratis KPap Manolas a must in my opinion.

IN KO stage 3-4-3..Zeca and Taxi Sitting right in front of the back..Mandalos and Fortounis interchanching and Toro Stafy playin line to line..our BEST players have to be on the pitch no way Tziolis Tzavellas merits a starts over Kpaps or TAxi vs bigger teams

..........Karnezis.........

..Sok..KPaps..Manolas

Toro.....Zeca....SamarisorTaxi (guy was a top tackling #6 in Europe last year)..Stafy

.....Manda..Mitro..Fortounis

 

 

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We should all be very happy we are in this position a win away from a playoff for a spot at the World Cup especially after the disastrous Euro campaign which saw us pick up only 6 points in a far easier group. I understand a lot of people are upset with a few selections Skibbe has made over this campaign, I am one of those people who shakes his head with Tziolis playing instead of say Tachtsidis, but the coach will go with what makes him believe will get this team results. Also it seems as if the unity of the team under Skibbe is by far better off on and off the field than what we saw last campaign. Personally in the playoffs I would rather see Tachtsidis in for Tziolis and I would like to see Lazaros get some time, but if Skibbe goes the same route than I will support him. Go Ellas!

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hopefully tziolis won't be playing in the playoffs. i'd rather see a samaris-tachtsidism midfield with donis and karelis on the wings and torosidis/stafylidis as defensive backs. tzavellas has done ok this campaign but we can't play stafylidis as a winger just to make room for him to play in the starting xi. i also think tziolis would never play had we gone to zenica without samaris and tachtsidis but looks like he impressed skibbe positively and he keeps rewarding him. 

let's see how karelis will do in the next month, he'll be a welcome addition to the nt again after more than a year. i just hope lazaros will be still in the squad and not be replaced by some mpakasetas. i mean how is that guy nt material? he doesn't even play in aek and lazaros has been killing it yet we needed people to scream out for lazaros to make the squad. 

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3 hours ago, OFIMTL said:

We are playing a minnow any lineup should be suffice. This game should be in the bag at 30 minutes no reason to struggle with them.

Why this manager rates Tzavellas is beyond me Stafylidis should be starting and Lykogiannis the 2nd. Tziolis at least rewarded him with a goal but his led legs couldnt get the offside which caused the 1st goal..if he continues to start we will get punished in playoffs way to slow and does not move the ball forward at all.

Maybe Mandalos best game.. Mitroglou is class lacking fitness..Fortounis was spot on with deliveries...We will need to be razor sharp when the KO games come..Tzavellas is a liability..a back 3 of Sokratis KPap Manolas a must in my opinion.

IN KO stage 3-4-3..Zeca and Taxi Sitting right in front of the back..Mandalos and Fortounis interchanching and Toro Stafy playin line to line..our BEST players have to be on the pitch no way Tziolis Tzavellas merits a starts over Kpaps or TAxi vs bigger teams

..........Karnezis.........

..Sok..KPaps..Manolas

Toro.....Zeca....SamarisorTaxi (guy was a top tackling #6 in Europe last year)..Stafy

.....Manda..Mitro..Fortounis

 

 

A healthy Donis is your heartbeat on the attacking midfield/forward role. He starts. 

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If Tziolis played in the biggest game of the year for us against Cyprus you can almost garuntee he will play in November..I'm very proud of our accomplishment as of now but I'm not a fan of the selection either but we can yell until we are blue in the face nothing will change Skibbe is who he is and he will pick who he wants even though I don't agree with it.. Laz needs to be a starter, Taxi also need more playing time. Yes Tziolis scored a big goal for us bravo but he still shouldn't be in the line up.. I truly think Skibbe is a little stubborn in his ways and he goes with his gut more then common sense when he puts his line up together.. we have the potential to have some really good players in our staring line up and a pretty good bench if the right guys were called up. Regardless it is what it is.. let's smash Gibraltar and hopefully get the weakest seeded team and after we beat them we can relax until June when we make it to the WORLD CUP!!!

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This is article captures what I have been saying in my posts regarding the Greek National Team.

http://www.agonasport.com/agonasport-allnews/2017109

All the negative, complaining, whining so-called fans should read the article above.

If you rewind to the end of the last world cup...To where the National team is right at this moment, someone with a functioning brain would understand that things are as they should be.

Be grateful, the future of Greek football shows promise. The delusional so-called fans that whine about the team, the coach etc...must understand that the team has re-emerged after some very, very dark times.

 

 

 

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This is article captures what I have been saying in my posts regarding the Greek National Team.

http://www.agonasport.com/agonasport-allnews/2017109

All the negative, complaining, whining so-called fans should read the article above.

If you rewind to the end of the last world cup...To where the National team is right at this moment, someone with a functioning brain would understand that things are as they should be.

Be grateful, the future of Greek football shows promise. The delusional so-called fans that whine about the team, the coach etc...must understand that the team has re-emerged after some very, very dark times.

Personall

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6 hours ago, J1078 said:

If Tziolis played in the biggest game of the year for us against Cyprus you can almost garuntee he will play in November..I'm very proud of our accomplishment as of now but I'm not a fan of the selection either but we can yell until we are blue in the face nothing will change Skibbe is who he is and he will pick who he wants even though I don't agree with it.. Laz needs to be a starter, Taxi also need more playing time. Yes Tziolis scored a big goal for us bravo but he still shouldn't be in the line up.. I truly think Skibbe is a little stubborn in his ways and he goes with his gut more then common sense when he puts his line up together.. we have the potential to have some really good players in our staring line up and a pretty good bench if the right guys were called up. Regardless it is what it is.. let's smash Gibraltar and hopefully get the weakest seeded team and after we beat them we can relax until June when we make it to the WORLD CUP!!!

J1078 I pray to the good Lord that we are in Russia next summer!

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Always aways an interesting show....

love him or hate him, Georgiou often makes some great points. 

Molon Lave, South American qualifying in my opinion is much harder. Messi gets no respect, tally up the goals Ronaldo scores against the minnows vs the goals that Messi has had to get against south american sides. The point is that If Argentina is on the brink. The Whiners a.k.a. fair-weather Greek fans must understand that so many factors to make it to the world cup. Look how Portugal struggled to beat Andorra. 

 

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tantra what were the positive times for the Greek National team since the last world cup? Please enlighten us. Begin with the Ranieri Euro qualification. Touch on the Greek National Federation Scandals, including the spying on the NT training facilities. As well expand on the infighting amongst the players. So please tell us of all the good times.

 

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FOR GREECE, IT’S ALREADY MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
 

by George Tsitsonis

After a whirlwind weekend, Greece is on the cusp of clinching 2nd place in Group H, needing only a victory on Tuesday against Gibraltar at home to ensure they are in the October 17th draw for the World Cup Playoffs along with seven other European nations. 

WATCH Greece's World qualifier against Gibraltar LIVE from AGONAsport on Tuesday, October 10th. Details here!  

Saturday and Sunday saw Greek supporters get exactly what they wanted. First, Belgium defeated Bosnia in Sarajevo 4-3 in order to give the Ethniki the chance to jump into 2nd place with a win over Cyprus. Michael Skibbe’s side then managed to make hard work of that task, but ultimately came away with the 2-1 win in Nicosia. Finally, on Sunday, the door opened to finish as one of the top eight 2nd-placed teams as Slovenia and Scotland played out a 2-2 draw, one of the possible results that Greece needed.

Now all that stands between Greece and a playoff berth is a victory, by any score, against Gibraltar. For supporters who have endured losses to the Faroe Islands and Luxembourg in the last few years nothing will be taken for granted. With all due respect though, the result against Gibraltar, does appear to be a formality. The tiny British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula has had a full national side since 2013. The team has won one match in that time, a 2014 friendly versus Malta. They have lost 24 of their 28 official matches, scoring eight goals and conceding 120 in the process.

Barring an upset the likes of which we have never seen, Greece will defeat Gibraltar on Tuesday. Then 180 minutes will separate the Ethniki from a place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But, whether Greece end up booking their ticket to a 4th World Cup or not, appears at this point to be fairly irrelevant.

All Greek fans want their team to be at the world’s biggest sporting event next summer. Greeks around the world will be supporting their team in what will certainly be a difficult Playoff in November.

However, what Greece have gained during this qualifying campaign is much more important than another berth at the World Cup. What we have seen over the last 18 months is a team coming together from the ashes of a catastrophic EURO 2016 qualifying campaign.

It was not only the defeats to minnows during those qualifiers and friendly matches in the post-2014 World Cup period that upset supporters. It was the infighting (sometimes on the pitch) and descent from a unified squad to a loose collection of players that looked disinterested in representing their country.  A team that had inspired so much pride and love since the turn of the millennium had been decimated from a lack of leadership.

Whilst Skibbe has earned widespread criticism for his team selection, tactics, and game management, he also deserves at least some of the credit for creating an atmosphere where the team dynamic, so important over the years for Greece, was able to thrive again.

The players have played a massive role in this for sure. The signs were there from the beginning of these qualifiers that the family atmosphere had come back to the team. When Giorgos Tzavellas struck a late, late thunderbolt a year go to earn a 1-1 home draw with Bosnia, it was former foe Giannis Maniatis who chased down the left-back first to celebrate with him. It was a sign of things to come. This moment, perhaps more than any other, showcased that the players were ready to put the past behind them and work on securing a better future for this team.

In particular, Sokratis Papastathopoulos has proved to be a superb leader over the last 12 months. His leadership on the pitch has been mirrored in his social media posts and comments to the media. His tone has always been measured and the Borussia Dortmund man has incessantly invoked his desire that Greece would rebound in these qualifiers and show they are back to being a team. He consistently stated that was his goal, with qualification being an extra reward should it happen.

Certainly, the rest of the old guard has helped. The new players called up during this campaign have been quick to mention the positive environment present in the Greek camp.

The odds are that Greece will defeat Gibraltar handily to claim a playoff spot. After that, the odds are that Greece, as an unseeded side, will find it difficult in the Playoffs. But, the team has been here before with regard to these matches. Ukraine and Romania were both swept aside by the team in the Playoffs for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Greek supporters will have hopes that this team can do the same regardless if they get paired with a team like Portugal, Switzerland, or Italy. 

That said, the Galanolefki have already won. This is a team again. One who fights for each other and sticks together regardless of result. And a side that supporters are ready to embrace again and have pride in. 

The football may not be pretty and they are not world-beaters, but Greece are back. After a disastrous few years, the Greek national team have rebuilt to give fans belief that better days lie ahead. Qualification for Russia would be a tremendous finish to these qualifiers, but even without that a great achievement remains.
 

 

by George Tsitsonis

Image Source: onsports.gr

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I’ve been critical of Tziolis for at least the last 7 years but for once I thought he played his defensive midfield roll quiet solidly against Cyprus. Forgot about the goal he scored but I thought he shielded the defense very well. His passing game wasn’t creative but he kept the ball moving towards the more creating/attacking players. In saying that I hope we see Zeca & Siopis against Gibraltar.

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2 hours ago, RED SHERIFF said:

I doubt karelis will play in play offs

Even if he could where would he play? We all know how he plays on the wing. Plus Mitroglou is our best option upfront. He is a good talent though. We have a good team and with him added it's even better.

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Something to keep our eyes on, Mitro, Tzavella, Stafylidi and Retso are one yellow away from missing the first leg of the play-off (assuming we get it done tonight) Losing Mitro would be a disaster, while if we lost both our left backs it would leave us with a hole 

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3 minutes ago, paokarag4 said:

Something to keep our eyes on, Mitro, Tzavella, Stafylidi and Retso are one yellow away from missing the first leg of the play-off (assuming we get it done tonight) Losing Mitro would be a disaster, while if we lost both our left backs it would leave us with a hole 

That's why Manolas, Donis and I think Samaria all took a yellow on purpose last game against Cyprus so they would miss this game and have a clean sheet going into the playoffs.. Those yellows that were taken were all on purpose.

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  • Lazarus changed the title to Greece vs Gibraltar (10 Oct. 2017, 21:45 EET - Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus)
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