Greece is up against one of the greatest teams at national level, as they prepare to take on the “squadra azzurra”.
Manager Aggelos Anastasiadis had an opportunity to try out some ideas during the team’s latest friendly in Antalya against Turkey, which Greece lost 2-1 without ever displaying any real threat for the home side.
Of course Greece was forced to play without a number of their key players, including Papastathopoulos, Manolas, Donis, Zeca and Mitroglou, as they were still occupied by their clubs.
The four concluded their obligations and were made available to Anastasiadis, however the Galatasaray forward remains injured and will miss out on both the game against the Italians and the one after that versus Armenia on Wednesday.
And so the Greek manager will be forced to rely on someone else for his main attacking threat, with the role falling either on the Atromitos striker Efthimis Koulouris, who was the Greek Super League’s top scorer with 19 goals, or Tasos Donis, who was the one saving grace from VfB Stuttgart’s horrendous season that saw them drop to the Bundesliga 2.
In his recent comment to the press after the team’s training session at Agios Kosmas, Anastasiadis pointed out the significance of the game and the faith he has in his team.
“The game we have on Saturday (against Italy) is a big deal. I believe that if we are able to get the result we want, then it’ll open the path for the team’s course afterwards.
“I’m optimistic. We have many issues to resolve with the boys in order to be as ready as good as possible on Saturday. I don’t like excuses. You all know this very well.
“I believe that, if we take it as a group, we can be as well prepared as possible to handle this game. A very difficult game against a very big team.
“With great history, great players, a good coach, but I also believe in the boys. It all depends on us and what we do,” said Anastasiadis. On the other side, the Italians don’t appear to be taking the game lightly either.
Both Emerson Palmieri and Gorginho stressed that they will need full focus and determination if they are to escape from the Olympic stadium with all three points on Sunday. Italy have begun to bring in a new class of players after their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and are led by stalwart defenders Chielini and Bonucci, while the midfield is guided by Marco Verratti and Federico Bernardeschi.
Offensively manager Roberto Mancini is fortunate enough to have many choices such as Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne and Moise Kean. The Italian coach is said to be choosing three forwards in his starting lineup, with Bernardeschi, Insigne and Federico Chiesa being the major threat for Greece.
On the other hand, there is a strong possibility that Anastasiadis might go with a similar approach, having Vlachodimos under the goalposts, the unshakeable Papastathopoulos-Manolas duet in the heart of defence, with Stafylidis on the left-hand side and Koutris on the right.
The three positions in midfield could potentially be taken by Samaris, Zeca and Bakasetas, with Fortounis having a play maker’s role and Koulouris and Donis being alone up front.
Of course, a surprise of the likes of Masouras, Mantalos, or Kolovos should not be taken out of consideration. After the great match against Italy, Greece will go on to host Armenia on Wednesday morning (Australia time).
