Greece vs Netherlands Recap | Catastrophe in Eindhoven

Greece vs Netherlands Recap | Catastrophe in Eindhoven

By Konstantinos Massaras,

Well, here we are again. I honestly did not think I would experience this very familiar feeling for a long time with the Ethniki, and yet here we are. While I did not fully expect to see a triumphant victory against the Netherlands yesterday, I did expect to finally see us look like a competitive team in Europe again. I never thought for a second, even after the tragedy that was the squad selection, even after nearly ten years of failure, that I would see the same lifeless performance that I have seen so many times before. 

Gustavo Poyet’s plan of creating a consistent, stable starting eleven may sound like a good idea on the surface, but simply cannot work when you are using players that don’t even play at their own clubs. His idea of stability has come at the cost of the most in-form Greek players, who all sat home yesterday to watch guys like Mantalos, Bouchalakis, and Rota. 

Before I get into more details, let’s quickly run through the match.

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The starting eleven was about the same as it had been during the Poyet era, who maintained his 4-2-3-1 shape with the exception of Rota replacing Baldock due to injury, and Retsos for Mavropanos who was serving a one-match suspension. In spite of that, there was still a belief that the team had enough to at the very least compete against one of their biggest matches in years.

The match kicked off at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven in front of over 32,000 fans, which included upwards of 2,000 Greeks who believed they would finally see the Ethniki announce their presence to the rest of Europe. It took about fifteen minutes for those hopes to quickly diminish.

It had become clear within the first ten minutes that the Dutch held a dramatic size advantage over the Greek defense, and it didn’t take long for this to come into play. The Dutch took the lead in the 17th minute when Denzel Dumfries set up Marten De Roon for an easy half volley past Vlachodimos. From a corner, Dumfries towered over Kourbelis to set up De Roon, who was left completely unmarked just eight meters out. Without yet having shown a sign of life, the fear was starting to set in for the Ethniki fans.

The Dutch doubled their advantage in the 31st minute when Dumfries again found a completely unmarked target, this time setting up Cody Gakpo for another easy finish. The Dutch broke into the Greek area without any effort and easily picked out Gakpo, who had the entire six yard box to himself. It was a complete meltdown by the Greek defense, specifically Lazaros Rota. The floodgates had now opened, and there was no sign of stopping it.

Dumfries picked up yet another assist in the 39th minute, this time picking out Weghorst for an unmarked header into the bottom left corner. Tsimikas inexplicably left Dumfries unmarked down the right wing, and nobody picked up Weghorst in the area. It was much worse than poor defending. It was a catastrophe.

Greece would not come near a real goal scoring opportunity for the entire match. The substitutions by Poyet were both late and pointless. He ended up switching his formation to a 5-4-1, with two defensive minded midfielders. There was never a moment where he looked to get back into the match, and it really felt like he was keen on maintaining the 3-0. Well, that is what he did.

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There were no positives from the match whatsoever. Tsimikas and Rota were equally horrific and none of the attackers brought anything to the table. It would be unfair to single any of them out because there was not even a thought of threatening the Dutch defense for a second. Without any creativity, most of our possession was spent launching hopeless crosses into the area.

The only thing I could take from the match is the proof that this team simply cannot compete in Europe. I for one would be all for a complete shake-up where guys like Konstantelias, Douvikas, Alexandropoulos, Vagiannidis, Tsiggaras are in the team. And if you are against it, I would love to know why? What have guys like Mantalos, Bouchalakis, Pelkas, or Chatzigiovannis done for this team that deserve a permanent spot? They are inexplicably treated like former World Cup winners by Gustavo Poyet.

Saying all that, I really do not want to fire another manager. I do not want to be back at square one again. Poyet needs to save this sinking ship immediately by going against his own system and selecting the young talent we have to offer. Assuming we pick up three points against Gibraltar, we can get back into the running for the second spot in the group next month, but we need the right players to do it. 

In all likelihood, we will be seeing Greece play in a play-off for the final EURO 2024 spots. While I expect to qualify over Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Luxembourg in those matches, I just never know what to expect with this team. 

And one thing is for sure, if we go into those matches with the same team we sent to the Netherlands, qualification is no guarantee.

Hellas Football 

Follow @KostasMassaras