The “Ethniki” are one game away from making their first tournament in ten years, with their final obstacle being a Georgian outfit that will strive to use their home ground advantage to secure their debut appearance at any tournament.
Greece travels to play in Tbilisi on Wednesday morning, 4 am (AEDT), as they prepare for a lively atmosphere with over 50,000 of the home faithful cheering on the Georgians as they chase their own dream.
The tickets for the match sold out in just five hours, demonstrating the vast amount of anticipation for what feels like a final as this game represents the do-or-die moment for each nation.
The Greeks will have a marginal contingency to contest the rowdy home crowd as the Hellenic Football Federation secured 2,000 tickets for the match, though the players will be largely left to their devices to win the fixture.
For Greece, this is the culmination of a two-year project under coach Gus Poyet wherein the goal was to qualify for the European Championship.
The last time the two countries met was in the group stage of the qualifying rounds for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which saw the teams draw 1-1 in Greece and the “Ethniki” emerge victorious with a 0-2 win in Georgia.
Both games were hard-fought, with the draw including a superb solo goal from winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (who was then only 20 years old).
The star forward has only improved since that game as he has risen to become a key player for Serie A club Napoli, with whom he managed to win the club’s first league title in 33 years last season.
Kvaratskhelia will no doubt be eager to lead his country to the Euros, especially given he missed the previous game against Luxembourg, and he believes wholeheartedly they can win.
“The strongest will win and I hope it will be our team. We respect the opponent, we know their strength, but I do not think any opponent would be happy to play a final in Georgia in front of so many fans,” the star winger said on the sidelines following his team’s Sunday training.
Greece comes into this match with confidence after beating Kazakhstan 5-0, and striker Fotis Ioannidis stressed afterwards to media that the team has the tools and the drive to make it to the Euros.
“We will give everything, the European Championship is our dream and if we play to the best of our ability, we will succeed,” he said.
Regarding the challenge against Georgia, Ioannidis remarked:
“I am not going up against them alone. Kvaratskhelia is quality, but we also have quality players to face such opponents and if we play like today with passion, we will succeed.”
The fans of both countries are now resting their hopes on the two squads in this massive decider, which invariably will cause elation for one side and heartbreak for the other.