Ethniki aiming to snap losing streak
UEFA EURO 2020 QUALIFYING - GROUP J (MATCHDAY 6)
AGONAsport previews the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match between Greece and Liechtenstein in Athens.
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Naturally, we’d like to say that this is a crucial match for the Greeks in their bid to qualify for Euro 2020, but we can’t. Unfortunately, as a result of conceding a painful 1-0 defeat to Finland on Friday, Greece find themselves eight points adrift of second place and practically out of the running for a European Championship berth.
In what is turning out to be another thoroughly disappointing campaign, Greece haven’t built up any momentum, losing three out of five matches and playing uninspiring football in the process. On Friday, John van ‘t Schip made his debut at the Ethniki Omada helm after he replaced Angelos Anastasiadis in the summer, but there was little improvement in attack.
However, the Dutchman barely had any time to prepare his team for the match in Tampere, and he has noted the importance of the players needing to drop their egos and feel pride representing their country. It remains to be seen if he can get his message through to his troops.
This match is all about being able to look the Greek public in the eye again. Yes, the opponents are only Liechtenstein, but it’s a perfect opportunity to finally snap the losing streak and get three points on the board. After all, hope dies last.
Greece should certainly be good enough to comfortably defeat a poor Liechtenstein side at the Olympic Stadium. Earlier this year, the Ethniki managed to beat Liechtenstein 2-0 on the road, with Kostas Fortounis and Anastasios Donis scoring excellent goals. Predictably, Liechtenstein languish in last place of Group J, failing to score a single goal in five games and not picking up any points. Liechtenstein suffered an emphatic 5-0 defeat to Bosnia on the road on Friday.
In the other group games, Armenia host Bosnia in Yerevan, while Finland welcome Italy to Tampere. Here are the current Group J standings:
Italy, 15 points
Finland, 12 points
Bosnia, 7 points
Armenia, 6 points
Greece, 4 points
Liechtenstein, 0 points
TEAM NEWS: GREECE
In his press-conference, Van ‘t Schip confirmed that he doesn’t have any injury worries, but he might make some changes based on the players’ fitness. Goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas, who was surprisingly picked ahead of Odisseas Vlachodimos against Finland, was one of the few Greek players to emerge from that game with any credit. It will be interesting to see if the AEK representative once again guards the Ethniki goal.
Possible line-up: Barkas, Tsimikas, Manolas, Papastathopoulos, Bakakis, Bouchalakis, Zeca, Masouras, Vrousai, Limnios, Koulouris.
TEAM NEWS: LIECHTENSTEIN
As usual, Liechtenstein will look to soak up pressure in defence, waiting for their chance to break. Starting goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel, on the books of FC Vaduz in his home country, is expected to be a busy man at the OAKA with the likes of Marios Vrousai and Efthymis Koulouris hungry to score goals. Greece had 31 shots in the first game in Liechtenstein this year.
Forward Dennis Salanovic plays for FC Thun in Switzerland, featuring in the UEFA Europa League this season as his club lost to Russian giants Spartak Moscow. He played a grand total of 27 minutes across the two matches in the second qualifying round.
Possible line-up: B. Buchel, Goppel, Kaufmann, Malim, Rechsteiner, M. Buchel, Salanovic, Weiser, Hasler, Maier, Gubser.
REFEREE: ALEXANDER HARKUM (AUT)
Harkum, 37, will take charge of proceedings. In the 2016/2017 season, the Austrian took charge of the Europa League qualifier between Spartak Moscow and AEK Larnaca, as the Cypriots triumphed 1-0 in Russia.
This summer, Harkum oversaw the CFR Cluj - Astana (3-1) and TNS - FC Copenhagen (0-2) matches in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.
Assistant referees: Andreas Witschnigg (AUT), Andreas Staudinger (AUT)
Fourth official: Harald Lechner (AUT)
WHERE TO WATCH
Watch the match LIVE on Go Greek TV!
