Euro 2020 Group J - Armenia-Greece (15 November 2019, Vazgan Sargsyan Republican Stadium,Yerevan)

[Torontoblue 56]

Good win. Moving in the right direction. How did we not finish 2nd in this group? Qualification should have happened. Can't believe another tournament we are not there. That's 3 in a row. Next summer will be hard again. 

At least we will move up a bit. But we are still screwed for next tournament. Europe only gets 13 spots. 10 will be the 1st place teams and 3 will come from nations cup. If we are able to beat Finland we will move up. But we will still probably end up in pot 3 for qualifying. But could still be pot 4. 

Cant see us toping any group as a 1st place.  And for the Nations cup it will be the top 6 starting in group A and working its way down.  We are in Group C so that pretty much kills it. 

Probably Euro 2024 is our best shot at being at another tournament. Unless this goes to s%$#! again. Lol ??

[J1078 930]

39 minutes ago, Torontoblue said:

Good win. Moving in the right direction. How did we not finish 2nd in this group? Qualification should have happened. Can't believe another tournament we are not there. That's 3 in a row. Next summer will be hard again. 

At least we will move up a bit. But we are still screwed for next tournament. Europe only gets 13 spots. 10 will be the 1st place teams and 3 will come from nations cup. If we are able to beat Finland we will move up. But we will still probably end up in pot 3 for qualifying. But could still be pot 4. 

Cant see us toping any group as a 1st place.  And for the Nations cup it will be the top 6 starting in group A and working its way down.  We are in Group C so that pretty much kills it. 

Probably Euro 2024 is our best shot at being at another tournament. Unless this goes to s%$#! again. Lol ??

Dude let us enjoy the fact that we’ve won2 games in a row and are playing good football and we are headed in the right direction.. After all the s%$#! soccer and missed tournaments we deserve to feel good about our team and the direction they are headed So let’s not worry about what tournament we qualify for next because if we play good anything is possible..For anyone that has negative comments right now sit back and think when was the last time we’ve felt pretty good about our team..  

[AchillesHeel 237]

I agree J1078, after the post Santos cumulative debacles and repeated coaching changes all it took was breaking loose from the obvious and picking players based on performance and not reputation. I have to say even Stafylidis as CB is a surprisingly smart move as there is now some one in the back who can actually play the ball out rather than lobbing it up field blindly or playing it back to the keeper....and he seems to be settling in to that role and improving after his 2nd match. Donis came on and tried a couple of selfish plays but then seemed to get into the team play as it went on. Masouras is the Zeca of our attack....a lot of running but little talent....needs to get more polish in his game, but the effort is there.

Nice to be able to smile again after a NT match.

Edited November 15, 2019 by AchillesHeel

[Tazmania 2]

All ten group runners-up will qualify for the play-offs for WC2022 together with two teams from the 2021 Nations League.  There will be six single-match semi-finals and three single-match finals in March 2022 in order to decide which three teams join the 10 group winners in Qatar.

It looks like a very open preliminary competition and the seedings might change quite a bit over the next year before the draw is made.

[Torontoblue 56]

No for the World Cup Europe gets 13 spots. So the way they will do it is 10 groups. 10 1st place qualify. They will get the 3 other spots from the nations league. Meaning top 6 that didn't qualify starting from group A working it's self down to group D.  Greece is in a pickle. They are group C so might not get playoff no matter how good we do. 

[Torontoblue 56]

1 hour ago, J1078 said:

Dude let us enjoy the fact that we’ve won2 games in a row and are playing good football and we are headed in the right direction.. After all the s%$#! soccer and missed tournaments we deserve to feel good about our team and the direction they are headed So let’s not worry about what tournament we qualify for next because if we play good anything is possible..For anyone that has negative comments right now sit back and think when was the last time we’ve felt pretty good about our team..  

Sure if your happy in beating Armenia 1-0 and not qualifying for the tournament. So be it. Be are still along way off. Especially the hole we dug. We will flounder around in the low seeds for a while. Not qualifying 

[J1078 930]

19 minutes ago, Torontoblue said:

Sure if your happy in beating Armenia 1-0 and not qualifying for the tournament. So be it. Be are still along way off. Especially the hole we dug. We will flounder around in the low seeds for a while. Not qualifying 

 I’m not disputing that. But why stress about things that are beyond our control yes we dug a hole but I’m happy to see for the first time since 2014 we are finally on the right track of building a team and a competitive team. We’ve been so negative the last five years and justifiably so But now it’s time to start being positive as the team is going in the right direction for once.. You bet your ass I’m happy beating Armenia considering we’ve lose to some worse teams in the last 5 years.. Time to be positive for a bit dude and stop bringing up the fact that we will not qualify for the World Cup you never know what can happen..

Edited November 15, 2019 by J1078

[La Mendel 196]

A great win. Masouras still cannot finish, but never mind. Ethniki had much more chances than the Armenians.

Again: a single point against Estonia at home would see us now through (as for the playoff). Anastasiadis and those who appointed him are to blame.

[Ellada2004 522]

2 hours ago, Torontoblue said:

Good win. Moving in the right direction. How did we not finish 2nd in this group? Qualification should have happened. Can't believe another tournament we are not there. That's 3 in a row. Next summer will be hard again. 

At least we will move up a bit. But we are still screwed for next tournament. Europe only gets 13 spots. 10 will be the 1st place teams and 3 will come from nations cup. If we are able to beat Finland we will move up. But we will still probably end up in pot 3 for qualifying. But could still be pot 4. 

Cant see us toping any group as a 1st place.  And for the Nations cup it will be the top 6 starting in group A and working its way down.  We are in Group C so that pretty much kills it. 

Probably Euro 2024 is our best shot at being at another tournament. Unless this goes to s%$#! again. Lol ??

We will be fine re. You gotta worry about canadas hockey program and how to fix the men's, Jr and women's loser teams in a 5 nation sport ?.. 

[Greekoz 151]

Another good performance, finally starting to see a team that doesn’t look half asleep,  19 shots, 64% possesion, many clear cut chances. Good chance we will finish the group 3rd...it should have been so much more, but baby steps first, we have a team thats actually watchable now.

[paokarag4 463]

Good win and there are positives to take out from that performance. 

A few points we need to work on/address moving forward. 
Stafylidis was again good at center back, moving forward when we come up against quality nations who have quality center forwards I think he's going to struggle. I'd say based on the Italy game JVS is aware of this and that's why Siovas partnered Xatzidiakos in that game. Coming up against Italy (or any pot 1 nation) they are going to have a good striker I can see Stafylidis being exposed against these types of opponents. Against smaller nations, it's workable, he has pace and is an okay passer, left footed, he can do a job. 

Left back is interesting, Tsimikas currently playing very well in the Champions league and is on the cusp of a move to a decent European league. Giannoulis IMO was close to our MOTM today, JVS has a welcome headache at left back as both are quality particularly in attack. Giannoulis crosses almost always find a teammate, get him in space and it's half a goal, he's quality on the ball is incredible. I think I'd give Tsimikas the edge defensively. 

Galanopoulos was good worked hard, he needs to be careful though, he was sloppy at times in possession and got caught out, better teams will punish us. Nothing that isn't fixable, but he also played a few dangerous passes that we got away with. 

Vlachodimos again a little nervy, the flag goes up and spares his blushes, he is yet to convince while playing for the Ethniki but I'd like to see him backed for the next 3-4 games. Xatzidiakos looks good, still only 22 but looks up to it. 

Also those saying Limnios has nailed down left wing, he needs to play on the right (as he did today) When he's played on the left for PAOK he's looked lost. He isn't a technical dribbler, his dribbling is direct head down, take the line whip in a cross. He can't do that on the left. 
Given Finland have qualified, good opportunity for us to get another win and get 3 in a row. Would be a great way to end the campaign given where we were just 5 months ago. 

[Bardouuu 78]

So I’m the only one who was a bit annoyed with Masouras game? That miss drove me nuts.
 

Pavlidis had a quiet game in terms of goals but he does a good job as a target man/ false 9 receiving the ball at his feet and feeding the wingers. 
 

limnios had a hell of a game today needless to say. Incredible precision on the pass to Masouras and great position and attacking runs. Unfortunately the wingers don’t get the best angles for shots.

mantalos was also “okay” today. I’m missing fortounis but we can expect to see him return in January I believe.

 

would have liked atleast one more goal, but I will take the away win any day!

[Alphonse 467]

46 minutes ago, Bardouuu said:

So I’m the only one who was a bit annoyed with Masouras game? That miss drove me nuts.

Drove me nuts too man... first the shot that was so off target... we do that in Sunday football here... you need to get the shot on target or close... feels like he is that fast player on the soccer game but can't actually shoot the ball.

The miss right in front... frustrated me even more when I saw the replay and that he had time to get the thing on target... that's just inexcusable. Plus the many chances missed vs Bosnia... 

[ausgreek 418]

I also am frustrated with Masouras so I would call up Vrousai or Lamprou instead.

[AchillesHeel 237]

If Schippy converted Staf into a CB maybe he should convert Masouras into a RB He seems to have an allergic reaction to scoring goals....but hey at least he's getting himself into positions to score.

Edited November 16, 2019 by AchillesHeel

[Ellada2004 522]

17 hours ago, Bardouuu said:

So I’m the only one who was a bit annoyed with Masouras game? That miss drove me nuts.
 

Pavlidis had a quiet game in terms of goals but he does a good job as a target man/ false 9 receiving the ball at his feet and feeding the wingers. 
 

limnios had a hell of a game today needless to say. Incredible precision on the pass to Masouras and great position and attacking runs. Unfortunately the wingers don’t get the best angles for shots.

mantalos was also “okay” today. I’m missing fortounis but we can expect to see him return in January I believe.

 

would have liked atleast one more goal, but I will take the away win any day!

Masouras miss was incredible. We should have had a 4-0 win. Limnios was tremendous, just imagine Fortounis in this lineup the last few games. Can't wait to have him back. 

 

[ausgreek 418]

Masouras needs to be converted into a RB, I am all for that too Achilles, he is a 'deer in the headlights' in front of goal. That match should read 2 or 3-0 and us talking about how the Ethniki smashed them, and that we haven't smashed a team in years like in this match.

Edited November 16, 2019 by ausgreek

[Tazmania 2]

23 hours ago, Torontoblue said:

No for the World Cup Europe gets 13 spots. So the way they will do it is 10 groups. 10 1st place qualify. They will get the 3 other spots from the nations league. Meaning top 6 that didn't qualify starting from group A working it's self down to group D.  Greece is in a pickle. They are group C so might not get playoff no matter how good we do. 

The 10 second-place teams from the WC qualifying groups also qualify for the play-offs along with 2 teams from the NL.

[Dean97 714]

It still mind boggling that Masouras missed an open goal. Unbelievable...

We need to continue playing the way we have and we need to work on our finishing.  JVS has said that we need to work on finishing. Finland are a better side than Armenia and are full of confidence. I hope we beat them at home to close this roller coaster of a qualifying campaign. 

[Jimmyp 107]

3 hours ago, Dean97 said:

It still mind boggling that Masouras missed an open goal. Unbelievable...

We need to continue playing the way we have and we need to work on our finishing.  JVS has said that we need to work on finishing. Finland are a better side than Armenia and are full of confidence. I hope we beat them at home to close this roller coaster of a qualifying campaign. 

Finland are already through. I think they’ll experiment. 

[Dean97 714]

9 minutes ago, Jimmyp said:

Finland are already through. I think they’ll experiment. 

Maybe your right. Greece still needs to be at their best and maybe put away 2 or goals against them. As I said we need to improve our finishing. If we do we could be looking at winning this game 3 or 4-0. Maybe we could see Vasiliadis play.