Greece – World Cup 2014 – Betting

Manager: Fernando Santos
Captain: Giorgos Karagounis
FIFA Ranking: 12
World Cup appearances: 2
Best World Cup: Round 1 – 1994 and 2010

Greece Team Profile

The 2004 European Champions will be making just their third appearance in the finals of a World Cup when they travel to South America after successfully coming through a two-legged qualifying play-off to get there, beating Romania 4-2 on aggregate.

The Greeks will be lead in by Fernando Santos, who replaced Otto Rehhagel in the summer of 2010. However, nothing really changes much with the Greeks. They are at the same standings in the FIFA World Rankings as they were four years ago and they are still a side who base all off their game on keeping things tight because they don’t have a lot of firepower. The Greeks are competitive and they are going to need all of that to get out of their group which consists of Colombia, Ivory Coast and Japan.

This will be just their third visit to the FIFA World Cup and they have failed to get out of the group stage on their two previous visits. Four years ago in South Africa, Greece picked up one win and two defeats, netting just the two goals along the way.

Key Player

Their midfield leader and captain, Giorgos Karagounis is still going strong at the age of 37. With over 130 caps for his country now, he still has a role to play in holding the Greeks together in the middle of the park. His contributions there alongside Kostas Katsouranis are key for the Greeks.

Strengths

The Greeks are worldwide renowned for their stubborn, resolute qualities. They set their stall out in an organised manner, with every defensive and midfield player knowing their role and often performing their respective duties to perfection. The Greeks really are a well oiled machine when it comes to defending, and only conceded three goals during their ten qualification matches to reach Brazil 2014. while their patient attitude when in possession enables them to dictate the tempo of most games and go at a pace that suits them, which is generally walking pace.

Weaknesses

Greece, for all their admirable qualities at the back and in midfield, aren’t the most attractive of teams on the eye, nor do they play the most entertaining of football. They go at their own pace, which is often very steady and sometimes extremely slow, to the point where the play often stops and breaks down. However, what this all boils down to is when Greece do need a goal, in those do or bust situations, they lack the required urgency needed in order to pile necessary pressure on the opposing defence. Moreover, because of their slow build ups, Greece are very predictable and very easy to defend against.

Greece Qualification for the World Cup

Sector: European
Group: 2
Position: 2nd
Win-Draw-Lose: 6-3-1
Goals Scored: 20
Goals Conceded: 10

World Cup Potential: 1/5

If we’re completely honest, we don’t think Greece will go far and, quite frankly, we don’t want them too either. They are one of the dullest footballing nations to watch and the sooner they leave the competition the better. It’s very, very rare that you come across an entertaining affair when Greece are involved, and in the greatest sporting spectacle on the planet, everyone wants to be treated to exciting games. The Greeks are too slow in their build up and often turn games in a snooze-fest, while world-class talent is at a premium to really make any serious in-roads anyway.

Greece World Cup Betting Odds

Greece to win the World Cup – 250/1 Expekt

Before the World Cup the odds on Argentina were 300/1

Official Greek World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers

Tzorvas (Panathinaikos Athens)

Chalkias (PAOK Thessaloniki)

Sifakis (Aris Saloniki)

Defenders

Seitaridis (Panathinaikos Athens)

Vyntra (Panathinaikos Athens)

Spiropoulos (Panathinaikos Athens)

A. Papadopoulos (Olympiakos)

Torosidis (Olympiakos)

Kyrgiakos (Liverpool)

Papastathopoulos (Genoa)

Moras (Bologna)

Malezas (PAOK Thessaloniki)

Midfielders

Karagounis (Panathinaikos Athens)

Katsouranis (Panathinaikos Athens)

Ninis (Panathinaikos Athen)

Prittas (Aris)

Tziolis (Siena)

Patzazoglou (Omonia Nicosia)

Strikers

Charisteas (Nuremberg)

Gekas (Hertha Berlin)

Salpigidis (Panathinaikos Athens)

Samaras (Celtic Glasgow)

Kapetanos (Steaua Bucarest)

last update: 18 June 2010

Greece World Cup 2014 Fixtures – Group C

World Cup 2014 Group C Table

World Cup Fixtures and Results