Appearances: 1 appearance in 1994
Current FIFA Ranking (As of March 3): 10
Captain: Giorgos Karagounis (Midfielder)
Leading Scorer in Qualifying: Theofanis Gekas-10 goals (Striker)
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Key retirements since 2006: Antonios Nikopolidis (Goalkeeper), Stelios Giannakopoulos (Midfield/Winger),
Nikos Liberopoulos (Striker)
Team Overview: The Greeks are known for their workman-like style of soccer. They will hope to score one goal and will defend the other team to death. Under coach Otto Rehhage, the Greeks have become a force to be reckoned with which was shown by their stunning Euro 2004 championship. In that tournament, they had 100-1 odds and beat the three favorites without conceding a goal in the knockout stages. Rehhage will rely heavily on veterans in this World Cup just like he did in Euro 2004.
Rehhage uses a system where energetic midfielders wear down the opponent and they swarm on defense, using numbers to stop opponents attacks. However, this does seem very boring to the viewer and on more than one occasion, his team has been booed by opposing crowds. They reached the World Cup this year by beating Ukraine in a playoff match with an aggregate score of 1-0.
Kostas Chalkias takes over as goalkeeper with the retirement of Nikopolidis. He has large shoes to fill as Nikopolidis was widely regarded as one of the greatest Greek goalkeepers ever. At 35-years-old, Chalkias has more than enough experience to keep a cool head during the big games. He is also one of the tallest keepers in the world, standing 6'6".
The defense for the Greeks is about as tough a group as you will find in the World Cup. All of their central defenders stand over six feet tall and all of them are excellent in the air. The group will be led by Sotirios Kyrgiakos, a 6'4" monster in the middle. Giourkas Seitaridis is another important player for the Greeks. He will be manning the right back position and will be counted on to help settle the midfield when they get in trouble.
Karagounis and Kostas Katsouranis will be the main men in the midfield and both of them will work tirelessly. They will hound the opposing team as they run through midfield and will tackle roughly. Physical play is expected when you play against Greece. Very few goals come out of midfield as these two and fellow midfielder Angelos Basinas have only scored 20 goals combined in over 250 games. These men are simply there to outwork the opponent and set up goals for the forwards.Greece will be counting on two men, Angelos Charisteas and the aforementioned Gekas to do the heavy lifting in the forward position. Greek forwards scored 17 of the 21 goals in qualifying and 14 of them were scored by these two men. Both are in the top five of all-time goal scoring Greeks. Charisteas is the target on set pieces as he is very good in the air and will be relied upon to be a physical center forward to open space for Gekas.
Player to Watch: Theofanis Gekas
The top scorer in the European section of World Cup qualifying will be expected to do much more of the same for a offensively challenged Greek team. He scored 10 goals in 11 games during qualifying, but 6 of them came in his two games against a weak Latvian team. He has a nose for the ball and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, a quality that can't be taught. He also positions himself very well and will not get caught offsides often. He is not a threat to outrun the defense and will rely on his cleverness to get open for shots and goals. He has absolutely no aerial game so Charisteas will have to do most of the work there.
Prediction: Knocked out in group stages
The final squad will not be announced until June 10 but here is a small list of players in the running to make the team.
Match Schedule
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