World Cup Preview - Group C - Greece

Continuing our discussion of the extremely weak Group C, today's focus is on Greece:

Nickname: “Galanolefki” (“Blue and whites”)

Absurd FIFA ranking: 10th

Coach: Portugeezer Fernando Santos

Match Schedule:
June 14 – Greece v. Colombia (Belo Horizonte, 12:00 p.m. EST, ABC)
June 19 – Greece v. Japan (Natal, 6:00 p.m., ESPN)
June 24 – Greece v. Ivory Coast (Fortaleza, 4:00 p.m., ESPN2)

Prospects: A decade after their surprise win at Euro 2004 in Portugal, Greece are continuing the Otto Rehhagel mold of keeping it extra tight at the back and hoping to nick a goal off a set piece under Portuguese manager Fernando Santos. They qualified through a hard-fought win against Romania over two playoff legs in UEFA qualifying back in the fall.

Key Player: Skipper Georgios Karagounis, one of the surviving 2004 champions, is 36 years old now, but he’s still the heart and soul of a tight defensive midfield unit.

Youngster to watch: There is very little youthful spark in Santos' set-up, unless 20 year old third-string keeper Stefanos Kopanis gets a chance. 

Who Will Get the Goals: Not a lot of goals in this side; Fulham's Kostas Mitroglou was the lone forward throughout their qualifying campaign.

Who Will Get the Cards: Roma central defender Vasilis Torisidis was frequently suspended during the qualifiers.

Prediction: Battling with Japan for the bottom of Group C.