Northern Ireland v Greece (02/06/2022)

SCOUTING REPORT

Andy Greeves takes a closer look at Greece ahead of this evening’s UEFA Nations League encounter at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park.

LOWDOWN Having been appointed as Greece’s new head coach back in February this year, Gus Poyet took charge of the side for the first time on 25 March as they beat Romania 1-0 in a friendly thanks to a headed goal from Andreas Bouchalakis. Three days later the ‘Ethniki’ (or the ‘National’ as Greece are nicknamed) went down to a 1-0 defeat to Montenegro in another friendly. Tonight’s match is the first of four UEFA Nations League Group C2 fixtures that Greece will face in the next 12 days. The Ethniki are away to Kosovo on Sunday and at home to Cyprus and Kosovo next Thursday and Sunday respectively. TACTICS Having yet to play a competitive fixture under Poyet , it is difficult to predict how Greece might line up this evening. The Ethniki operated in a 4-3-3 formation in their friendly matches against Romania and Montenegro back in March, which appeared more like a 4-5-1 when they were out of possession. Poyet usually favoured a back four during his club management career, with his teams typically lining up in either a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation. Since their unlikely success at UEFA Euro 2004, where Greece lifted the trophy, the Ethniki have been regarded as a ‘defensive’ outfit . In his unveiling as head coach back in February, Poyet spoke pragmatically about the style of football to expect from his Greece side going forward. “We can play the most beautiful football in the world… but if we don’t reach the finals (UEFA Euro 2024) , we don’t reach the objectives,” he said. “We need to be practical , we need to be intelligent . We want to play the best football we can but we want to win.”

STRENGTHS Since a 3-2 defeat to Armenia back in June 2019, Greece have neither scored more or conceded more than two goals in a match, supporting the idea of them being a defensive-minded outfit . Particularly in matches against high-ranking opposition, the Ethniki have been happy to sit deep and counter attack. This approach has often paid dividends – Greece drew 1-1 away to Spain in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in March 2021 despite only having 20% possession and one shot on target all match. A 1-1 draw in Belgium in June 2021 was achieved in similar fashion, with the Ethniki putting together 166 less passes then their opponents on the night . Greece have a strong, experienced defensive spine. Goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos has played over 150 matches for Portuguese giants Benfica, while veteran centre back Georgios Tzavellas – who can also operate at left back – was included in the Greek squad for UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Left back Kostas Tsimikas continues to impress for both Liverpool and the Greek national team. To portray Greece solely as a defensive outfit would be to do them a disservice. There are a number of attacking players in the squad capable of making things happen going forward, including the lively Christos Tzolis, who operates on the left f lank and is comfortable running with the ball at his feet and also making moves into the penalty area to score.

IRISHFA.COM

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