Greece U17 and U19 squads ready to contest European championship qualification

The Greek U17 and U19 national teams will continue their quest to qualify for the 2019 European championships as the Elite qualifying round is set to begin at both levels. Greece U19 kick-off today against Denmark while the Greek U17 team will open their Elite round campaign on Monday, March 25th.

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GREECE U19 (ETHNIKI NEON)

In the first qualifying round for the 2019 UEFA U19 European Championship, the under 19 Greek national team were superb in Group 13, defeating Romania, Bulgaria, and Gibraltar to seal first place with a perfect haul of nine points. Nevertheless, it will be more difficult in the Elite Round of qualification, as the Ethniki Neon were drawn from Pot 1 into Group 2 with the Czech Republic, England, and Denmark. Each country will play three games in the group, with only the team in first position qualifying for the final tournament which will take place in Armenia (July 14-27). England will host all of the Group 2 games.

Coach Giannis Goumas has called up 20 players for the upcoming matches:

Goalkeepers: Nikopolidis (Georgetown), Mandas (Atromitos)

Defenders: Lyratzis (PAOK), Tsaousis (PAOK), Michailidis (PAOK), Antzoulas (Fiorentina), Meliopoulos (Xanthi), Diamantis (PAOK), Vitaliotis (Atromitos), Liavas (Panetolikos)

Midfielders: Neofytidis (Olympiacos), Emmanouilidis (Panathinaikos), Vrakas (Napoli), Tsiggaras (PAOK), Mpotos (AEK), Tzimas (Asteras Tripolis)

Forwards: Klainti (Plymouth), Gaitanidis (PAOK), Shehu (Panathinaikos), Gkargkalatzidis (PAOK)

It is important to note that Greece will be without striker Fotis Ioannidis of Levadiakos due to injury.

A look into Greece’s Group 2 opponents

Czech Republic: The Czechs comfortably won Group 3, finishing two points ahead of nearest challengers Croatia while FYROM and Luxembourg were behind the leading pair. In their three games, the Czech Republic tallied seven points, winning two and drawing one.

England: Taking into account they were competing against Turkey, Iceland, and Moldova, the English were large favourites to win Group 5, however they could only come second with six points after losing to the Turks 0:1 on the road. They will look to use home advantage in the Elite Round.

Denmark: In Group 2 of the qualifying round, Denmark only registered a mere four points in the three matches against Italy, Finland and Estonia, however that was enough to progress to the next phase.

Group 2 Schedule

Matchday 1, March 20: England - Czech Republic (16:00); Greece - Denmark (18:30)

Matchday 2, March 23: Greece - England (16:00); Czech Republic - Denmark (18:30)

Matchday 3, March 26: Denmark - England (16:00); Czech Republic - Greece (16:00)

GREECE U17 (ETHNIKI PAIDON)

The under 17 Greek national team will play in Group 5 of the Elite Round of qualification for the 2019 UEFA U17 European Championship, competing against Spain, Ukraine, and Kosovo.

During the maiden qualifying phase, Greece edged out Latvia and Moldova to take second place in Group 12 with four points in three games, but Belgium comfortably earned first position with a grand total of nine points. In the draw for the Elite Round, the team was drawn into Group 5 alongside Spain, Ukraine, and Kosovo, with the group winners automatically qualifying for the competition which will be played in the Republic of Ireland (May 3-19). However, the seven best group runners-up will also earn a berth at the tournament.

Spain will host all Group 5 Elite Round matches. The teams will play three games apiece.

Coach Nikolaos Kechagias has called up 20 players for the upcoming matches:

Goalkeepers: Balomenos (PAOK), Tzolakis (Olympiacos)

Defenders: Manisoglou (Xanthi), Lazaridis (Panathinaikos), Panagiotou (PAOK), Aslanidis (PAOK), Pavlidis (Schalke), Tsavos (Olympiacos), Aventisian (PAOK)

Midfielders: Grosdanis (PAS Giannina), Liatsos (Olympiacos), Grosdis (PAOK), Belevonis (Panetolikos), Karamperis (PAOK), Arsenidis (Olympiacos), Karakoutis (PAOK), Siatounis (Sampdoria), Sourlis (Olympiacos)

Forwards: Kotopoulos (Xanthi), Tziolis (PAOK)

A look into Greece’s Group 5 opponents

Spain: The Spaniards made short work of Israel, FYROM and the Faroe Islands in Group 4 of the first qualifying round, claiming nine points while scoring 10 goals and conceding none. Given that they will be the hosts for Group 3 of the Elite Round, Spain are overwhelming favourites to finish in top spot.

Ukraine: Ukraine topped Group 2 in impressive fashion, gaining seven points to take first place against Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Gibraltar. The Eastern European country netted a huge 16 goals in just three matches, albeit 11 of those came in the 11:0 victory against lowly Gibraltar in Kakanj.

Kosovo: This is Kosovo’s first appearance in the Elite round of UEFA U17 European Championship qualification. Surprisingly, Kosovo won Group 5 in the first qualifying phase against Scotland, Switzerland and Cyprus with six points. The Scots picked up five.

Group 5 Schedule

Matchday 1, March 25: Kosovo - Ukraine (12:00); Spain - Greece (15:00)

Matchday 2, March 28: Ukraine - Greece (12:00); Spain - Kosovo (15:00)

Matchday 3, March 31: Greece - Kosovo (14:00); Ukraine - Spain (14:00)

by Sarantos Kaperonis

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