Nasty spat between Sokratis and Anastasiadis develops
Following the painful UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to Armenia, a spat has emerged between Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Angelos Anastasiadis, with the former calling for changes to be made to the Greek national team set-up.
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On Tuesday, Greece slipped to a new low, conceding a shock 2:3 loss to the Armenians in Group J of the European Championship qualification process. As a result of this defeat, the Ethniki Omada now trail second-placed Finland by five points, with the team’s hopes of finally qualifying for a major tournament again rapidly diminishing.
When speaking to Cosmote TV after the match, national team captain Sokratis Papastathopoulos revealed that if it’s for the better that he leaves the side, he will: “There need to be changes,” stated the Arsenal centre-back. “If I am the problem, I will step aside. There are some issues which I do not want to talk about here.
This is not the time to say anything more. When you play a team like Armenia and contrive to lose, you don’t deserve to qualify for a major tournament. Changes simply have to be made and, in my opinion, they will happen.”
An angry Anastasiadis, who heard what Papastathopoulos had to say before he started his press-conference, responded with this comment: “I believe that we will be able to qualify. If Mr. Papastathopoulos doesn’t believe we can achieve our goal, he shouldn’t be here. Anyone who has this view shouldn’t be a part of our group. I am happy with the effort which our players are giving.”
“Resign? Why should I resign?” continued Anastasiadis. “We played football and had plenty of opportunities to score. We made three mistakes and conceded three goals. Making mistakes does not mean we aren’t trying.”
Papastathopoulos has made 88 appearances for the senior Greek national team, scoring three goals along the way. He initially made his debut in February 2008.
