Van ‘t Schip: “We have hope for the future”

John van ‘t Schip, Vasilis Torosidis and Marios Vrousai all spoke to the media after losing 1-0 to Finland in Group J of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.

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Greece have practically lost all hope of somehow qualifying for Euro 2020. In order to remain in realistic contention, the Ethniki Omada required a victory on Finnish soil, but a clinical penalty from Teemu Pukki secured all three points for the hosts after Dimitris Kourbelis had been punished for a foul. Greece now trail second-placed Finland by eight points after five rounds.

“I am disappointed with the result,” stated Van ‘t Schip when the match ended. “I’m not sure if it was a penalty for Finland. We defended solidly in the first half, but on the break we lost the ball too easily. However, in the second, we played the football which we wanted to see. This gives us a lot of hope for the future.”

“Yes, we didn’t create a lot in attack, but we tried to put Finland under pressure by switching the play from left to right,” replied the Dutchman when asked about the lack of opportunities. “Now it is very difficult for us to qualify. We will continue working to build a strong team for the future. Marios Vrousai proved that he’s good technical ability, and Vangelis Pavlidis was dangerous. Why didn’t Carlos Zeca play? We got the impression he is a bit tired.”

Vasilis Torosidis, who wore the captain’s armband in Tampere, shared his opinions on the painful defeat: “This was a final for us, and it is very difficult for us to qualify for the European Championship now,” revealed the veteran Olympiacos right-back. “There are a lot of new players coming through the ranks, and they are talented. Looking forward, we must now try to win the remaining five qualifiers, while preparing for the future at the same time. Look at what the Ethniki achieved between 2004 and 2014.”

“This year will probably be my last as a professional footballer,” continued Torosidis. “I believe that we gave a better performance than in previous matches in this qualifying campaign. I don’t know if it was a legitimate penalty for Finland. We’re missing out on yet another major tournament, so the players now have to focus on making Qatar 2022.”

Debutant Marios Vrousai looked back at his opportunity in the closing minutes: “I had the chance to equalise, but I couldn’t score,” said Vrousai. “It was my dream to represent Greece as a senior international footballer. Everyone welcomed me in the team. In my opinion, a penalty shouldn’t have been given for the incident involving Kourbelis. We must continue giving everything on the pitch in future matches.”

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: to10.gr

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