Team Greece had a decent performance yesterday in a friendly match against India and scored five goals ahead of the opener on September 10 vs. Morocco. This was the second friendly game for Team Greece and unlike the first match where against Honduras the team didn’t seem very sharp this time around the lines played much closer together, passed the ball quite well and started “meshing”‘as a team.
In soccer, reacting quickly when your team wins the ball and goes forward with quick passes is a must exposing weaknesses in the opposing defense. Team Greece, unlike the first game, did this very well yesterday.
BTW, having a striker “on fire” doesn’t hurt either. Peter Pitaoulis scored four goals (all in the second half), but the highlight of the game would have been a bicycle kick that didn’t find its mark and was saved by the opposing goalie. Haralambous and George Pitaoulis were solid in the center of defense who along with Dosis (right back) cleared every ball that came their way.
One weak spot during the Honduras game was the left side of defense which the Hondurans exposed but not anymore. Chris Yiantsos covered the left side like a champ and even pushed the team forward allowing Dino Tomazos to dribble, pass and open up the opposing defense at will.
One thing that I’d like to see however is the team play as many friendlies as they can between now and the opener because this tournament has many good teams with skill and speed. Team organizer Vasilis Psarras said this year’s goal is for the team to make it to the knockout stages and next year he would be better prepared. Time will tell. My concern? The depth of this squad. Games require adjustments (throwing in the game an extra striker or subbing a tired midfielder), and I don’t know if the coaches have options.