Greece vs France Recap |

Game Summary and Individual Player Performances

Well, That Was Something

By Konstantinos Massaras

Greece came into this match unbeaten in Group B coming off of a solid 2-1 victory at home against Ireland. Now they were to take on France at the Stade de France in front of over 76,000 people. The expectations coming in were understandably low, considering they were taking on the World Cup Finalists. The fans did however expect this team to give them, at the very least, a competitive match. And they did. But the way the match unfolded left us feeling like more could have been taken, which is of course a good sign. In the first half, Greece did not create much in terms of real opportunities but did manage to keep the French off the scoresheet. Vlachodimos had the biggest moment of the half when he stopped a Jules Kounde volley from point-blank range, keeping the match level. Besides a few French penalty cries, it felt like 0-0 was the deserved scoreline heading into the break. Now, with only 45 minutes to play, it felt like a result was definitely feasible for the Ethniki, and possibly even breaking through and grabbing a goal. Unfortunately, it took about four minutes for all of that to change. Teoscar Hernandez played a ball intended for Antoine Griezmann, but it was met by the high foot of Dinos Mavropanos, who caught Griezmann right in the head. The referee correctly whistled for a penalty, and a VAR check ensued. Mavropanos was very fortunate he didn’t get sent off here. It was a completely unjustifiable challenge, and it was not even a genuine goalscoring opportunity. Mbappe stepped up for the penalty but had it parried away by Vlachodimos. At that moment, it felt as if something, for once, was going our way. Vlachodimos, in the midst of celebrating, realized that the penalty was to be taken again.

The referees called encroachment, which would result in the penalty being retaken. This is something that you rarely ever see called, and fans were understandably frustrated with the decision. Most fans thought that they called it on Vlachodimos, which was even more frustrating because it seemed like he had remained on perfectly on his line. But the call was made to Mavropanos, who entered the box one step too soon. Was it the correct decision? I truly do not think so. Yes, Mavropanos stepped in too early. And I fully understand that he was the first one to touch the ball. But it had no impact on the play whatsoever. If he had not been there, Masouras would have comfortably gotten to the ball.

I feel a call like encroachment on a penalty, which is just so crucial to the outcome of the game, should only be given if it is absolutely outrageous. If the referees did not make that call, I am confident not a single French player or fan would have complained. It would have gone unnoticed, just like every other penalty you have seen. But maybe I am wrong. Unfortunately for Greece, it was given. Mbappe comfortably tucked away the penalty and made it 1-0. Mavropanos still deserves blame for both the challenge and the encroachment, because there was just simply no reason for him to rush into the box the way he did. Mavropanos’ nightmare continued about 15 minutes later when he was sent off for a challenge on Randal Kolo Muani. Many fans were debating on whether or not this was a foul, and while a straight red seemed harsh, that was a fair make-up for the foul on Griezmann. For me personally, it felt like Mavropanos was trying to take Kolo Muani down but almost lucked into a challenge that seemed ok. Either way, Greece were now down to 10 men, practically ending any hopes for getting a result. Somehow, it seemed like Greece’s performance improved when down a man, as Poyet really tried to push for an equalizer. As much as you can anyway with 10 men. However, after 14 minutes of stoppage time, the result held at 1-0. It was a story of what could have been for Greece. What would the match have looked like in the final 35 or so minutes if the game continued right along after Vlachodimos stopped Mbappe? Maybe we hold on for a scoreless draw. Maybe France scores three more. Maybe Bakasetas hits one for 35 out and wins it. Who knows? Either way, it was a solid performance from Greece who proved that they have built a side that can compete in those very difficult matches. Qualification over the Netherlands will be difficult, but seemingly possible. The Ethniki’s next match, which will come in September in Eindhoven, will be their most vital match yet. Qualification for the Euro overall however will be less challenging. According to @We_Global on Twitter, Greece’s playoff route, should they not qualify for the Euro directly, will include Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Luxembourg. While it is a very favourable path for sure, it would be nice to qualify directly and not have to worry about any playoff matches. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is how I think the players performed individually: GK: Odysseas Vlachodimos - 8.1 Kept us in the match all night, and had what should have been a great moment taken away from him. LB: Kostas Tsimikas 6.1 Much worse performance compared to his last match. Didn’t bring the same creativity today. CB: Dinos Mavropanos - 2.8 One of the worst performances in recent memory, and especially from a talent like Mavropanos. It wasn’t just the big moments, he was terrible in the first half as well. I sympathize with him on the encroachment call, but he should have been sent off for the challenge on Griezmann anyway. CB: Pantelis Chatzidiakos - 6.8 Relatively stable in the backline. Definitely did his part in keeping us in the match. RB: George Baldock - 7.3 Another really strong performance from George. Brought something in the attack today as well along with some good moments in defence. CM: Manolis Siopis - 6.9 Ran hard for his entire shift. Had some key tackles in the first half. CM: Dimitris Kourbelis - 6.9 Reasonably good performance from Kourbelis. Nothing to complain about but nothing too special either. LW: Petros Mantalos - 7.1 One of the better players from the night. I go back and forth with Mantalos but I thought he played well today. Many of his moments came in defence, however, similar to most of the starting eleven. CAM: Tasos Bakasetas - 6.7 Not one of his best performances, but not much to complain about either. RW: Giorgios Masouras - 6.9 Like Mantalos, he had a lot of good moments tracking back on defence. ST: Giorgios Giakoumakis 6.4 Completely invisible all night, but also no service was provided whatsoever. Subs: ST: Vangelis Pavlidis 6.4 Same as Giakoumakis exactly. They need service and they didn’t have any tonight. LW: Taxiarchis Fountas - 6.8 Taxi brings a vital spark to the Ethniki. I would say give him more minutes, but I think he is most impactful coming off the bench. I’d expect to see him coming on at halftime in future matches. CB: Konstantinos Koulierakis - N/A My preferred option is to replace Mavropanos with the Netherlands. Although he is young, he played every minute for PAOK this season when he was healthy. He is more talented than Retsos, and definitely a better option than Tzavellas. CB: Panagiotis Retsos - N/A CM: Andreas Bouchalakis - N/A

@kostamassaras @hellasfooty