Greece vs Georgia: Match Preview

Greece vs Georgia: Match Preview 

By: Antonios Theodosis

After an impressive result against group favorites Spain and a win over Honduras on the weekend in a friendly game, the Greek national team will be facing off against Georgia in the second World Cup Qualifier in less than twenty-four hours. I would just like to voice my thoughts and opinions on what I would like to see from coach John Van’t Schip. 

The last couple of games have highlighted some interesting developments when it comes to certain areas in the squad such as the midfield and on the defensive end and I thought it would be nice to address some of these observations as well as quickly touch on what we should expect to see in tomorrow’s game.

 

In the lead-up to the match against Spain, I was slightly concerned to see that Left-Back Dimitris Giannoulis had sustained an injury and would not be able to play. Normally I would not have been too concerned with this news as thankfully Kostas Tsimikas is a player of the same caliber. The problem to me, however, was that Tsimikas has hardly played much at Liverpool this season. I had feared that he would not be in form and that he would be burned by the upcoming Spanish talent Ferran Torres - yet I was wrong. Tsimikas put on an incredible defensive display against Torres and was one of the better players. 

Coach John Van’t Schip will have to start him in the match against Georgia, he provides great defensive stability on the left and he would be vital in nullifying any counterattacks Georgia throws our way.

 

Alternatively, if he were to go with starting Giannoulis as the Left-Back, I would encourage the coach to field Tsimikas as a Right-Back for the game against Georgia. Bakakis has shown he is not the highest quality defender, especially against Spain and Honduras and Svarnas should not be playing at all with the current form he is in. Tsimikas and Giannoulis as our full backs would help quell the weaknesses I saw in the last couple of matches, particularly on the right side, even though Tsimikas would be playing out of position it might just have to be something done out of necessity as the options in this position are not the best.  

 

In the midfield, I would like to see Siopis get the start next to Zeca. Siopis transformed the game when he came on as a substitute against Spain last week. The twenty-six-year-old midfielder provides the midfield with an energetic spark, he hustles on every possession both in attack and while tracking back to defend and cuts out passing lanes. 

In tomorrow’s match, he would provide us with a nice window to control the game and nullify any sort of counter-attacking attempts from Georgia. Playing him next to Zeca would provide us with two solid, energetic midfielders who cover a lot of ground together.

 

I would also call for the coach to play Kostas Fortounis right behind the striker so that the midfield pair of Siopis and Zeca could feed the playmaker as soon as they have won possession back in order to generate scoring chances in a more fluid manner. In the match against Spain, I felt that we lacked the creativity of a player like Kostas Fortounis in the first half. 

When we won possession back we played it out sloppily and turned over possession or squandered opportunities to counter-attack effectively by not having a player on the pitch that could play our forwards through.

 

With that said though Greek football fans know that we will most likely be seeing something slightly different to what I, along with many others have proposed for the upcoming match against Georgia. 

I expect that Tasos Bakasetas will be starting as the number ten in place of Kostas Fortounis in a 4-2-3-1 formation which has proven to be Van’t Schip’s preferred shape. Bakasetas for whatever reason has won the trust of the coach and it is almost guaranteed he will be starting in tomorrow’s match.

 

In the midfield, although I proposed a Siopis/Zeca combination we will most likely see Bouchalakis start next to Zeca. It is a defensive-minded approach starting those two together, however, but I suspect that Siopis will be slightly fatigued after playing very hard in two matches so far. Expect to see him come on as a substitute in the second half if he does not start.

 

Along with this, I would also note that Van’t Schip will most likely play Bakakis as the Right-Back yet again. We saw him feature in the match against Spain and the friendly with Honduras so it would not be crazy to say that the Dutchman will most likely be utilizing the only real Right-Back on the roster in the match tomorrow. He will also most likely go with the Center-Back duo of Papadopoulos and Tzavellas which has seemingly worked out so far. 

The duo held Spain to just one goal and I expect that they will be given the nod for tomorrow’s game as well.

 

In the end, I think that Van’t Schip will have us play for the win in tomorrow’s game. Georgia is not a side that should be taken lightly, however, and he needs to keep the players focused so that they can try and pull a result. The players will be in good spirits after the draw with Spain and the win against Honduras over the weekend. 

I expect that they will be playing a more open game and generating chances, but the big question will be can we finish the chances we generate? 

If the side is playing with focus I see us winning this match 1-0. It all rests on not taking our opponent too lightly which I am sure coach Van’t Schip is fully aware of and reminding the players of as well.  

Hellas Football 

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