World Cup Preview - Group B - Greece
FIFA ranking: A ridiculously high 12thCoach: German cynic Otto Rehhagel
Game Schedule:
June 12 – Greece v. South Korea (Port Elizabeth, 10 a.m. EST, ESPN)
June 17 – Greece v. Nigeria (Bloemfontein, 10 a.m., ESPN)
June 22 – Greece v. Argentina (Polokwane, 2:30 p.m., ESPN)
Prospects: Group B is rounded off with one of the sides that I'm least looking forward to watching this summer. It's been six years since Greece's improbably triumph at Euro 2004 in Portugal and only the most reckless gambling addict would bet on them repeating those feats this summer. The Greeks qualified for SA 2010 through a narrow playoff victory against the toothless Ukraine after placing second to the Swiss in a group so weak that even Latvia gained 17 points in it. Rehhagel's provision squad was predictably negative, with only AEK Athens prodigy Kosta Manolas a surprise inclusion.
Key Player: Skipper Giorgos Karagounis is still Rehhagel's go-to guy.
Youngster to watch: Diminutive Sienna midfielder Alexandros Tziolis is probably already on Arsene Wenger's shopping list.
Who Will Get the Goals: Hertha Berlin's Theofanis Gekas was top scorer in qualifiers.
Who Will Get the Cards: Bologna hard-man Vangelis Moras has learned all the tricks in Serie A.
Funniest Name - Sokratis Papastathopoulos will keep Martin Tyler working for his corn this summer.
Prediction: Three losses and bottom of the group.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 8:31 PM
3 Comments:
I got nothing. These guys are a complete mystery to me. You could almost say that it's all..., but that would be too obvious.
Out in three is my prediction. Soundly beaten by the Argies, narrowly so by the Nigerians and outlasted by the Koreans.
What's your feeling of South Korea v. Nigeria. As you'll see from my earlier posts, I'm plumping for the Koreans because of superior organization but it could easily be a toss-up.
I haven't seen the Nigerians play in an awful long time. I would guess that they're like they always are, promising but disappointing in the final word.
The Koreans haven't been the same since the departure of Hiddink however. They've got some established players which they didn't in '02, but I think it will be the Argies in a stroll, and this group will be all about 2nd place.
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