Greece is in line for their toughest assignment of their Euros qualifying campaign, battling footballing giants France in their backyard, as they look for a positive result.
The two sides battle it out at the Stade de France in the fourth round of Euro 2024 qualifiers on Tuesday morning, with the “blue-whites” in search of even a draw to give their ambition of directly qualifying for the 2024 Euros a huge lift.
The “Ethniki” succeeded in their first and (what they considered) most important mission of defeating Ireland last Friday, putting them in good stead to give “les Bleus” their all.
Greece’s defence will need to be extra sharp as they strive to nullify football superstars like Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé, with plenty of strike power to come from other players as well.
Greece manager Gus Poyet, fully aware of France’s strength, has urged his players to show faith in their own ability and ensure they still play to their own strengths.
“Our performance should be as good as possible, for us to be at the top level we can play. We don’t just come to defend ourselves. We want to go forward, try to play our game, and attack,” Mr Poyet told media ahead of this epic contest.
“For France’s players, it is not just a matter of quality and technique, it’s a matter of psychology and fitness. We know that everyone in their squad plays in the top five leagues. It’s not just Mbappé, our team need to have solutions to deal with all of their players.”
Cyprus travels away to clash with Norway on Wednesday morning in the hope of overtaking the Norwegians to climb out of bottom place.
The Cypriot side were left disappointed after their previous bout saw them lose 1-2 to Georgia, a devastating result to their qualifying hopes, and so come into this match desperately seeking a positive outcome.
Group B fixtures (AEST)
Ireland-Gibraltar: 04.45, Tue Jun 20
France-Greece: 04.45, Tue Jun 20
Group A fixtures (AEDT)
Norway-Cyprus: 04.45, Wed Jun 21
Scotland-Georgia: 05.45, Wed Jun 21
