Skibbe and Karelis pleased with Greek display against Egypt
The senior Greek national team gave an impressive performance in Switzerland against the Egyptians, earning a deserved 1:0 victory in the second friendly match of 2018.
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Following the defeat against the Swiss in Athens, there was an air of pessimism surrounding the Greek camp, but the Ethniki Omada played with confidence and defeated Egypt thanks to Nikolaos Karelis’ excellent headed goal. Goalkeepers Andreas Gianniotis and Vasilis Barkas, both making their national team debuts, kept the lead intact with a pair of smart saves.
Greece head coach Michael Skibbe was pleased with his players efforts: “I think that we played dynamically with good technical ability,” stated the 52-year old German. “We showed that we’re a good team and I am happy with the guys’ performance. The two goalkeepers did well, just like Nikolaos Karelis, Dimitris Pelkas and others. Overall, I can say that Switzerland are much stronger opponents than Egypt.”
Egyptian boss Hector Cuper, who once managed Aris Thessaloniki, praised the Greeks: “Greece were superior, especially in the first half. Today, we wanted to give opportunities to some of our new players. I would like to send my regards to Aris and Thessaloniki, I had a great time there. We will try to go as far as possible at the World Cup.”
Goalscorer Nikolaos Karelis felt that the Ethniki Omada’s players showed their true potential against Egypt: “It’s good that we won and displayed our potential as a team,” said Karelis. “We worked really hard and I want to congratulate all of the players with this win. We deserved to be at the World Cup, but the disappointing matches against Croatia ruined our chances. Moving forward, we have to continue working.”
