EPO waiting for the dust to settle

Next week, the Board of Directors for the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) will hold a meeting, but the future of Greek national team head coach Angelos Anastasiadis will not be discussed.

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The Greek national team has slipped to a new low under the leadership of Anastasiadis. In early June, the Ethniki Omada conceded two damaging defeats against Italy (0:3) and Armenia (2:3), which consequently mean the Ethniki Omada are five points behind second-placed Finland in Group J of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.

After the game against Armenia, experienced defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos engaged in a spat with Anastasiadis, and information later came to light that the Arsenal centre-back - accompanied by Kostas Manolas - asked the EPO to sack the coach otherwise he would retire from international duty.

Almost everyone on the EPO Board of Directors is said to be in favour of sacking Anastasiadis. The 66-year-old only joined the Greek national team in November 2018.

On Wednesday, the Board of Directors will hold a meeting, but the Anastasiadis issue is not on the discussion schedule. With the next European Championship qualifiers scheduled for September, the EPO is in no rush to make a public announcement in regards to the head coach, but it is widely assumed Anastasiadis will be relieved of his duties in the near future.

New reports in the media have also revealed that a large amount of Ethniki players were immediately against the appointment of Anastasiadis last year. Anastasiadis has struggled to gain the trust of his leading players such as Papastathopoulos and Vasilis Torosidis after receiving the job.

EPO president, Evangelos Grammenos, is eager for the dust to settle and the boiling emotions to cool before it’s announced that Anastasiadis will be leaving the Greek national team.

In other news, it’s been reported that the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion will be ready for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Bosnia in October. Originally, the arena - which was chosen to be the Greek national team’s new home - was supposed to be ready for the start of the qualifying campaign, but major delays to required updates prevented this from happening.

Image Source: to10.gr

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