World Cup 2014 Team Spotlight – Greece
Although Greece has only appeared in two World Cup finals and have not progressed beyond the group stage, with a solid squad that has some good attacking talent and a staunch defense, they are poised to make a strong run this summer in Brazil.
Group C: Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan and Colombia
FIFA Ranking: 10
Jun 14 v Colombia, Jun 19 v Japan, Jun 24 v Ivory Coast
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Odd makers have not placed much faith in this year’s Greece side, even after it has proven itself in qualifying, finishing with more points and a better record than five of the nine European group winners.
They made light work of their draw against Romania, and proved themselves once and for all after having to play their way into the World Cup by way of a playoff round.
With all of that it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see them reach the knockout rounds this summer.
However, it won’t be easy, and Greece will be tested early in its first match against group C favorites Colombia. If there defense however, can contain the Colombian’s wicked offense led by Radamel Falcao, they could ink the upset.
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If Greece cannot get past the Colombians however, that would set up some critical matches with Japan and Ivory Coast, which could decide if they get past the group stage or go home just like in their last two World Cup finals, which included a 1994 run that ended with three defeats, no goals scored and 10 goals conceded.
They followed that up with a 2010 World Cup finish in which they did still went out in the first round despite registering a win against Nigeria.
That improvement should makes Greece’s World Cup odds of making a run at the trophy a little better this time around, especially if they can get solid campaign from striker Konstantinos Mitroglou, who was instrumental in getting Greece to the World Cup after hitting the back of the net three times in Greece’s 4-2 aggregate win over Romania in the qualification playoff.
If new Portuguese manager Fernando Santos, who took over following Greece’s early exit in the 2010 World Cup, can devise a strategy that will unleash Mitroglou’s prowess, this Greece World Cup squad could well find themselves progressing to the knockout rounds for the first time ever.
Santos showed his talents as a manager in both Portugal and Greece, guiding the side to the quarter finals of the Euro 2012 tournament.
Matt’s Free Prediction –
While the World Cup odds show their chances of making it out of the group stages slim, I expect Greece to use its decent attack along with its smothering defense to get them into the round of 16 for the first time ever after finishing second in the group.
However, I think the journey will end there because they will have to play the winners of group D, which will pit them against Germany or Portugal — a tough task for any team.
