Play Like That in September? Then the Qatar Dream is Alive Again

Play Like That in September? Then the Qatar Dream is Alive Again

By Christian Leggas 

Let's be honest I think I speak for a lot of Ethniki supporters when I say that confidence levels were low about our prospects of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup after the poor display against Georgia in March earlier this year. 

While the June matches weren't competitive games, that does not mean that this team hasn't learned from the mistakes in March. As in these two matches. I saw a team that was more solid defensively and more promising going forward.

 

The Belgium game started with a similar theme to that Georgia match. A couple of early sites at goal that we didn't take advantage of, then struggled to create much going forward. 

As that first half went on, flashes of our match in Granada against Spain began to show, with the Ethniki stuck in their half trying their best to nullify Belgium's star-studded attacking threats. A slightly better Spain-away theme continued for the rest of the match, and credit must go to the boys for not letting a string of first-half-mistakes take over their mindset. 

They got themselves together and got rewarded for their plucky-defensive attitude with a well-taken Georgios Tzavellas goal early in the second half, the positive performances of Tzavellas. Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Thanasis Androutsos and Giorgos Masouras must be credited too. All four played parts in their way to help us gain this result. Papadopoulos and Tzavellas are certainly starting to build a strong partnership in the heart of the Ethniki defence. 

While Androutsos and Masouras seem to have a good understanding of how to work together on the right side of the pitch, which is a relief as the right-back and right-wing positions have been visible problems of late for the National Team.

 

The promising signs from Androutsos and Masouras continued into the Norway game. Both got on the score sheet in the 2-1 win against the Scandinavians. 

John van't Schip set the boys up in what appeared to be a 5-3-2 formation, with the most intriguing aspect of the line-up was the unfamiliar strike-partnership of Dimitris Pelkas and Giorgos Masouras. The Ethniki were undoubtedly impressive in the first half, not just by keeping a largely solid shape in all thirds of the pitch but by also punishing the opposition for their defensive errors. 

Our opponents upped the ante in the second half as their half-time substitutes, most notably Alexander Sørloth, gave the Ethniki a fair few headaches with their fresh legs. The soft set-piece goal that we let Norwegian-defender Stefan Strandberg nod in was almost the only piece of defending that you could be highly critical of throughout the game. 

As in the Belgium match, our defence did a fantastic job of limiting the influence of Norway's classy attackers, most notably the likes of Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland. I wouldn't be surprised if Dinos Mavropanos found Haaland still in his pocket when he got home post-match. Like the Belgium match, Giorgos Masouras and Thanasis Androutsos were particularly impressive. 

Praise too must go to Dimitris Pelkas, not just for playing a big part in both the goals we scored, but also for his movement and trickery. Particularly in the first half, which gave Norway plenty of problems, and can I say, it's about bloody time he put in a dangerous performance for the Ethniki! 

Time after time, I've criticised the on-field output of Pelkas in the van't Schip era, as I've failed to see much if any quality from him, but I can only commend his performance against Norway. Hopefully, he builds on it for future matches.

 

As well all know, the tests for this team will come in the latter parts of the year, starting in September. Hopefully, these strong June performances, combined with the potential recall of Georgios Giakoumakis, Kostas Fortounis and Pantelis Hatzidiakos. Give this team a vote of confidence that's big enough to get Qatar 2022 mission back on track.

 

Hellas Football

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