Greece national football team

Greece

Nickname(s)	Ethniki (National) Galanolefki (Blue-white)
Association	Hellenic Football Federation
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Fernando Santos
Asst coach	Leonidas Vokolos
Captain	Giorgos Karagounis
Most caps	Theodoros Zagorakis (120)
Top scorer	Nikos Anastopoulos (29)
Home stadium	Karaiskakis Stadium (now) Olympic Stadium other stadiums outside the capital Pankritio Stadium (Crete)
FIFA code	GRE
FIFA ranking	8
Highest FIFA ranking	8 (April 2008 – June 2008 = October 2011 - Present)
Lowest FIFA ranking	66 (September 1998)
Elo ranking	28
Highest Elo ranking	7 (August 2004)
Lowest Elo ranking	78 (May 1963 and November 1963)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Greece 1–4 Italy  (Athens, Greece; 7 April 1929)
Biggest win
Greece 8–0 Syria  (Athens, Greece; 25 November 1949)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 11–1 Greece  (Budapest, Hungary; 25 March 1938)
World Cup
Appearances	2 (First in 1994)
Best result	Round 1, 1994 and 2010
European Championship
Appearances	3 (First in 1980)
Best result	Winners, 2004
Confederations Cup
Appearances	1 (First in 2005)
Best result	Round 1, 2005

The Greece national football team (Greek: Εθνική Ελλάδος, Ethniki Ellados) represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship, in 1994 and 1980 respectively, until UEFA Euro 2004, when Greece became European champions in only their second participation in the tournament. The Greeks, dismissed as rank outsiders before the tournament with bookmakers giving odds of between 80–1 to 150–1 for them to win, defeated some of the favourites in the competition including defending champions France and hosts Portugal, who Greece beat in both the opening game of the tournament and again in the final. Even with their success as a football team, Greece has been highly criticized for the age of their players.

Since that victory Greece have occupied a place in the top 30 of the FIFA World Rankings for all but 2 months, and reached a high of 8th from April to June 2008.

History

1980 European Football Championship

Greece, under the guidance of Alketas Panagoulias, made its first appearance in a major tournament at the Euro 1980 in Italy, after qualifying top of a group that included the Soviet Union and Hungary, both world football powers back then. In the final tournament, Greece was drawn into group A with West Germany, the Netherlands, and Czechoslovakia. In their first game, Greece held the Dutch until the only goal of the game was scored by Kist, in the 65th minute. Three days later Greece played against Czechoslovakia in Rome, after holding the Czechoslovakians 1–1 at the end the first half, Greece eventually lost 3–1. In their last game, Greece earned a 0–0 draw against eventual winners West Germany, concluding what was considered a decent overall performance in the team's maiden presence in a final phase of any football competition.

World Cup 1994

The team's success in qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA, marked the first time they had made it to the FIFA World Cup finals. Greece finished first and undefeated in their qualifying group, surpassing Russia in the final game. In the final tournament Greece were drawn into group D with Nigeria, Bulgaria, and Argentina. After the successful qualifying campaign, expectations back in Greece were high as no one could imagine the oncoming astounding failure. Most notable reason for this complete failure was the fact that legendary coach Alketas Panagoulias opted to take a squad full of those players – though most of them aging and out of form – that helped the team in the qualifying instead of new emerging talents seeing it as a reward for their unprecedented success. Furthermore, they had the disadvantage of being drawn into a "group of death", with runners-up at the 1990 FIFA World Cup Argentina, later semifinalists Bulgaria, and Nigeria, one of the strongest African teams. It is worth mentioning that all players of the squad, including the 3 goalkeepers, took part in those 3 games, something very rare. In their first game against Argentina, Greece lost 4–0. Four days later Greece suffered another 4–0 blow from Bulgaria and in their final game lost to Nigeria 2–0. In the end, Greece were eliminated in the first round by losing all three games, scoring no goals and conceding 10, thus making one of the worst records in World Cup history.

Near misses

Greece failed to qualify for the Euro 1996 finishing third in the group behind Russia and Scotland. In their 1998 World Cup qualifying tournament the team finished only one point shy of second-placed Croatia as, despite a plethora of missed chances, it was halted to a 0–0 draw by the eventual Group winners, the Danish national football team. In their Euro 2000 qualifying group, Greece finished again in third place, two points behind second-placed Slovenia in a highly disappointing campaign that saw the team lose at home to Latvia and led to the sacking of then national coach Kostas Polychroniou. In the 2002 World Cup qualifying Greece finished a disappointing fourth in their group behind England, Germany and Finland making them change their coach Vasilis Daniil in the process and replace him with Otto Rehhagel. Highlights of the campaign were the humiliating 5–1 defeat in Finland and the 2–2 draw that followed in England, both the first two games of the soon to become legendary German coach at the reins of the Greek national team.

Euro 2004 triumph

Greece lineup during Euro 2004

Qualification

Greece started the qualification process for the Euro 2004 in poor fashion losing at home to Spain and away to Ukraine both times with a 2–0 scoreline. Astonishingly, the team went on to win their remaining six games, including a highly decisive 1–0 away win over Spain in their second matchup, securing first place in the group and an appearance in the European Championship finals for the first time in 24 years. Expectations before the tournament were low with memories of a bitter 1994 FIFA World Cup experience still fresh in the minds of many, where Greece lost all three group stage matches, conceding ten goals and scoring none.

Group Stage

In the opening match against hosts Portugal, Greece achieved a surprise 2–1 victory, receiving the nickname "pirate ship" used by Greek sportscasters in reference to the floating ship used in the tournament's opening ceremony. Greece won with a 25-yard strike from Giorgos Karagounis and a penalty from Angelos Basinas. Four days later, Greece stunned Spain in front of a largely Spanish crowd with a 1–1 draw after being down 1–0 at half time. Greece fell behind from a defensive lapse, which allowed Fernando Morientes to score. However, a sublime diagonal pass from playmaker Vasilios Tsiartas allowed Angelos Charisteas to score an equaliser in the second half, giving Greece hope of qualifying. In the last group game, Greece fell behind 2–0 to Russia (who were already eliminated) within the first ten minutes of the game but managed to pull one back through Zisis Vryzas and thus progressed to the next round, at the expense of Spain, on goals scored. Dmitri Kirichenko had the chance to eliminate Greece in the final minutes of this game, but his stretched effort squeezed just wide.

Quarter-final

In the quarterfinals Greece faced off with the undefeated and reigning champions France. At 65 minutes, Greece took the lead. Angelos Basinas played a perfect pass to captain Theodoros Zagorakis, who flicked the ball high in the air, passed veteran French defender Bixente Lizarazu, and sent a perfect cross to Angelos Charisteas for the header and goal. Greece held on to win, despite a late French onslaught on goal with close efforts from Thierry Henry, thus knocking France out of Euro 2004 and becoming the first team ever to defeat both the hosts and defending champions in the same tournament.

Semi-final

Greece reached the semifinals to face the Czech Republic, who were the only team to defeat all of their opponents to that point. The Czech record included a convincing 3–2 win over the Netherlands, a 2–1 win over Germany, and a 3–0 win over Denmark in the quarterfinals. At this stage in the tournament, the Czechs were favourites to take the trophy. The game began nervously for Greece, as the Czech Republic applied much pressure. Tomáš Rosický hit the crossbar in the opening minutes, and Jan Koller had several efforts saved by Antonis Nikopolidis. The Czechs chances were dealt a blow when influential midfielder Pavel Nedvěd left the pitch injured in the first half. After 90 minutes the game ended 0–0, despite the Czechs having most of the game's missed chances. In the last minute of the first half of extra time, a close range silver goal header from Traianos Dellas from a Vassilios Tsiartas corner ended the Czech campaign, putting Greece into the final of Euro 2004 and sending their fans into raptures.

Final

The winning goal

For the first time in history (a recurring theme in this tournament), the final was a repeat of the opening game, with Greece and hosts Portugal facing off in a rematch. In the 57th minute, Charisteas gave Greece the lead with a header from a corner by Angelos Basinas. Portugal had much of the possession, but the Greek defence was solid and dealt with most attacks. Cristiano Ronaldo had a good chance to equalise in the dying moments, but could not apply a finish. Greece held on to win 1–0, winning the tournament, an achievement considered by many to be one of the greater, if not the greatest, football upset in history. Captain Zagorakis was named the man of the tournament, having led Greece and made the most tackles in the entire tournament.

Recognition

Greece's victory shot them up in the FIFA World Rankings from 35th in June 2004 to 14th in July 2004. This is one of the largest upward moves in a single month in the top echelon of the rankings. The triumph of Greece at Euro 2004 is the biggest sporting achievement in the country's history for a team sport, along with the successes of the Greece national basketball team in the European Championships of 1987, 2005 and 2006 FIBA World Championship. The team has appeared on stamps and received medals from the President of Greece, the Archbishop of Athens, and an ecstatic ovation from the country's population which came out to see the team with the trophy from the Athens airport to the Panathinaiko Stadium where the Greek political and religious leadership was awaiting them. The Euro 2004 winners were selected as "World Team of the Year" at the 2005 Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year.

2005 Confederations Cup

As Euro 2004 winners, Greece qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany. Greece were drawn into Group A along with 2002 World Cup champions Brazil, 2004 Asian champions Japan, and 2003 North America champions Mexico. Greece lost 3–0 to Brazil and 1–0 to Japan and draw 0–0 with Mexico in a tournament that was seen mostly as a time for experimentation as players like Efstathios Tavlaridis, Loukas Vyntra, Mihalis Sifakis, Ioannis Amanatidis, and Theofanis Gekas either received their first ever calls or earned their maiden caps in the national squad.

2006 FIFA World Cup

After winning the Euro 2004, Greece were considered favourites to top their group, in the 2006 World Cup qualification. The team was drawn into Group 2 along with Ukraine, Turkey, Denmark, Albania, Georgia and Kazakhstan.

In their first qualifier, Greece could not handle the game with Albania and lost 2–1. Afterward their matches were followed by draws (home and away respectively) with Turkey and Ukraine, before defeating Kazakhstan 3–1 at home. It was thought that the team was back on course as the 2–1 win over Denmark, with Zagorakis scoring his first ever goal in over 100 caps. This was followed by wins against Georgia and Albania and a respectable away draw with Turkey. However, despite dominating the game, Greece lost at home to Ukraine 1–0 having two goals disallowed. Three months later, Greece barely escaped embarrassment as they scraped to a 2–1 away win against Kazakhstan in the dying seconds. Greece was defeated 1–0 by Denmark in Copenhagen as chances for a qualification through a playoff looked dismal after a 1–0 win of Turkey in Kiev against the already qualified Ukrainian side. In their last game, Greece defeated Georgia finishing 4th, four points behind first-placed Ukraine and two behind Turkey. Throughout the match, the 30,000 fans in the Karaiskakis Stadium chanted the name of Otto Rehhagel in their utmost support and he said afterwards "Even if 10 years pass, part of my heart will be Greek". There was a dissatisfaction with the selection of the team by Otto Rehhagel throughout qualification campaign from some journalists as they argued that he was sticking to exactly the same Euro 2004 squad even though some players didn't even have a club and was overlooking others most notably Ieroklis Stoltidis of Olympiacos and Akis Zikos of Monaco.

On 25 May 2006, less than a month before the opening of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Greece lost 1–0 to Australia in a friendly match in front of 95,103 people at the MCG.

Euro 2008

Greece was the highest ranked seed in the 'pots' for qualification to the UEFA Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria and was drawn with Turkey, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Moldova and Malta being the only group which did not have a team represented in the World Cup 2006.

Greece national football team in Salzburg during UEFA Euro 2008.

Greece began their Euro 2008 campaign with victories over Moldova, Norway and Bosnia-Herzegovina. As a result, Greece climbed eighteen places in two months to 13th place in the October FIFA World Rankings. On 24 March 2007 Greece lost their fourth game 4–1 against Turkey in Athens. Nevertheless the team went on to win away to Malta, with the only goal coming in the 66th minute from an Basinas penalty, Hungary and Moldova at home and drew 2–2 away to Norway despite having hit the goalpost three times in this match. The draw in Oslo was followed by a 3–2 home win against Bosnia-Herzegovina and a 1–0 away win to Turkey, securing its presence to the Euro 2008 finals at their old rival's home ground. In the last two matches, Greece smashed Malta 5–0 in Athens and defeated Hungary with an away 2–1 win, finishing first in their group with a total of 31 points, the most points gained among any group. In the draw for the final tournament, Greece was seeded first as the defending European Champion. In addition to this, Greece climbed to the 11th place in the FIFA World Rankings, the highest ever for them, thus they are seeded first for the draw of the European qualification zone for the World Cup 2010, also for the first time. The draw for the Euro 2008 finals was held on December 2 in Switzerland, Greece were drawn in Group D along with Sweden, Spain, and Russia. In preparation for the tournament, Greece defeated Portugal 2–1 on 26 March 2008, in a repeat of the Euro 2004 opening and final match; as a result, Greece moved up to a record 8th position in the FIFA world ranking.

In the tournament finals, however, the Greek team lost all three games and scored only one goal. Greece underperformed in the opening match against Sweden and lost 2–0. They tried to recover in the match against Russia, but lost 1–0. Having already been eliminated, the Greek team tried their chances against already qualified Spain, but also lost 2–1, becoming the first defending champion not to earn a single point in the next European Championship.

2010 FIFA World Cup

Teamv · d · e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Switzerland 10 6 3 1 18 8 +10 21  Greece 10 6 2 2 20 10 +10 20  Latvia 10 5 2 3 18 15 +3 17  Israel 10 4 4 2 20 10 +10 16  Luxembourg 10 1 2 7 4 25 −21 5  Moldova 10 0 3 7 6 18 −12 3

Greece  – 2 – 1 5 – 2 2 – 1 3 – 0 1 – 2 Israel  1 – 1 – 0 – 1 7 – 0 3 – 1 2 – 2 Latvia  0 – 2 1 – 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 2 2 – 2 Luxembourg  0 – 3 1 – 3 0 – 4 – 0 – 0 0 – 3 Moldova  1 – 1 1 – 2 1 – 2 0 – 0 – 0 – 2 Switzerland  2 – 0 0 – 0 2 – 1 1 – 2 2 – 0 –

Despite the scoring prowess of Europe's top 2010 World Cup qualifying goal-scorer Theofanis Gekas—who produced 10 goals in as many games—Greece took second place to Switzerland in Group 2 of UEFA qualification, thus advancing to a home-and-away playoff round, where they faced Ukraine. After a scoreless draw at home in the first match, the second leg in Donetsk saw Greece triumph with a 1–0 win, sending the Greeks to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. At the 2010 World Cup draw in Cape Town, South Africa on 4 December 2009, Greece found itself grouped with two familiar opponents from its first World Cup appearance in 1994. Argentina and Nigeria were yet again drawn into group stage play alongside Greece, this time into Group B with South Korea replacing Greece's third 1994 opponent, Bulgaria.

In its World Cup opener, Greece lost 2–0 to South Korea after a dismal performance characterized by excessive long-ball attacks and a lack of offensive creativity. In its second fixture against Nigeria, Greece won 2–1 coming from behind after conceding an early goal. Dimitris Salpigidis scored Greece's first ever goal in the World Cup finals in the 44th minute of the first half to tie the match at 1–1. Vasilis Torosidis scored the game-winning goal in the 71st minute after a goalkeeper error, securing the first points and first victory for Greece in tournament history. In the third match against heavily favored Argentina, Greece needed a combination of results to advance to the next round. As expected, in what would be his final game as Greece's national team head coach, Otto Rehhagel conjured up a very defensive-minded strategy, leaving Georgios Samaras with nearly all offensive responsibilities as the lone striker. The strategy nearly paid off in the second half with the score still knotted 0–0 when Samaras beat the last Argentine defender on a quick long-ball counterattack and curled a rushed shot just wide of the far post. The Greeks held the Argentines scoreless until the 77th minute and ultimately lost 2–0, finishing third in Group B.

Teamv · d · e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Argentina 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 9  South Korea 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 4  Greece 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3  Nigeria 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 1

After the 2010 World Cup, Greece moved from 13th to 12th in the FIFA World Rankings. Russia, Croatia and France dropped lower than Greece while Uruguay and Chile jumped ahead of the Greeks.

UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying

Group F

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group F

Teamv · d · e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Greece 10 7 3 0 14 5 +9 24  Croatia 10 7 1 2 18 7 +11 22  Israel 10 5 1 4 13 11 +2 16  Latvia 10 3 2 5 9 12 −3 11  Georgia 10 2 4 4 7 9 −2 10  Malta 10 0 1 9 4 21 −17 1

Croatia  — 2–1 0–0 3–1 2–0 3–0 Georgia  1–0 — 1–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 Greece  2–0 1–1 — 2–1 1–0 3–1 Israel  1–2 1–0 0–1 — 2–1 3–1 Latvia  0–3 1–1 1–1 1–2 — 2–0 Malta  1–3 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 —

Having gone through the qualifying stages of Euro 2012 unbeaten, Greece secured a place in the finals qualifying top of their group on 11th October after going one goal down to Georgia only to score two goals in the last 10 minutes. Because of their surprising 2-0 victory over heavily favored Croatia, and their 2-1 comeback victory over Georgia, Greece jumped three places in the FIFA World Rankings and ranked 8th, which tied their record which they set back in 2008.

Stadium

Main article: Olympic Stadium (Athens)

Historically, Greece have used various stadiums as their home ground, but they have spent most of their history playing their home matches in Athens, while stadiums in other cities around the country, especially Thessaloniki, have occasionally hosted the national team. They played most of their competitive matches at the Karaiskakis Stadium and the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium until the mid-1980s, when the Athens Olympic Stadium opened and hosted the majority of Greece's home matches, before the stadium was closed for renovation in 2002 for the upcoming 2004 Summer Olympics, when Greece moved to the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium for the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying.

After they were crowned European champions in 2004, the newly reconstructed Karaiskakis Stadium became the new home ground of the Greek national team for the qualifyings of the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2008 UEFA Euro, when some riots took place during a match against Turkey in the latter competition; the team was forced to play away from Athens for two fixtures and moved to the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion, Crete, before moving back to Athens and the Olympic Stadium for the remaining matches. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Greece used all these three stadiums for home games, but the Athens Olympic Stadium has been used more recently for official matches and it is considered the current home ground of the team unless a different decision is made.

Colours

Greece's home kit since the Hellenic Football Federation was first established was blue, but after Greece's triumph at Euro 2004 they changed their home kit from blue to white. The team wears either a set of white jerseys, shorts and socks or a set of blue jerseys, shorts and socks. A combination of a blue jersey and white shorts has also been used in some matches. The official shirt supplier is Adidas which has signed a long-term agreement with the Greek Federation until 2012.The Former Suppliers were Le Coq Sportif (2000-2003), Diadora (1992-1998) and Puma (until 1990).

2004 UEFA Euro (A)

2008 UEFA Euro (H)

2008 UEFA Euro (A)

2010 World Cup (H)

2010 World Cup (A)

Nicknames

Traditionally, Greece is referred to by the media and the Greeks in general simply as Ethniki, which means 'national'. The team is often called Galanolefki (Blue-white) due to its kit colours which are also the colours of the Greek flag. Both nicknames are used for the country's national teams in other sports as well. During the opening ceremony in the UEFA Euro 2004, which took place before the inaugural game of the tournament between Greece and hosts Portugal, a replica of a 16th century ship was used referring to the Portuguese expeditions of that time. Greek radio sports journalist Georgios Helakis commented that "since the Portuguese team appear in such a ship, it's time for us to become pirates and steal the victory". Eventually, Greece beat the hosts and Piratiko (The Pirate Ship) emerged as the new nickname of the team, repeated at every win. Especially after the Greek win in the final to Portugal, the new nickname was established to commemorate their coronation as European champions.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

See also: Greece at the FIFA World Cup

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1930	Did not enter
1934 to 1990	Did not qualify
1994	Round 1	24/24	3	0	0	3	0	10
1998 to 2006	Did not qualify
2010	Round 1	25/32	3	1	0	2	2	5
Total	2/20		6	1	0	5	2	15

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960 to 1976	Did not qualify
1980	Group stage	8th	3	0	1	2	1	4
1984 to 2000	Did not qualify
2004	Champions	1st	6	4	1	1	7	4
2008	Group Stage	16th	3	0	0	3	1	5
2012	Qualified		0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	Champions	4/14	12	4	2	6	9	13

**Gold background colour indicates winner of tournament.

FIFA Confederations Cup

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1992 to 2003	Did not qualify
2005	Round 1	3	0	1	2	0	4
2009	Did not qualify
Total	1/8	3	0	1	2	0	4

Players

Current squad

Squad called up for the friendly matches against Russia on November 11, 2011 and against Romania on November 15, 2011. Players' records are accurate as of 15 November 2011 after the match against Romania.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Alexandros Tzorvas 12 August 1982 (1982-08-12) (age 29) 16 0 Palermo 12 GK Kostas Chalkias 30 May 1974 (1974-05-30) (age 37) 29 0 PAOK 13 GK Stefanos Kapino 18 March 1994 (1994-03-18) (age 17) 1 0 Panathinaikos 2 DF Ioannis Maniatis 12 October 1986 (1986-10-12) (age 25) 6 0 Olympiacos 3 DF Iosif Cholevas 27 June 1984 (1984-06-27) (age 27) 1 0 Olympiacos 4 DF Kostas Giannoulis 9 December 1987 (1987-12-09) (age 23) 1 0 Atromitos 8 DF Avraam Papadopoulos 3 December 1984 (1984-12-03) (age 26) 30 0 Olympiacos 15 DF Vasilis Torosidis 10 June 1985 (1985-06-10) (age 26) 42 5 Olympiacos 19 DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos 9 June 1988 (1988-06-09) (age 23) 25 0 Werder Bremen 22 DF Stelios Malezas 11 March 1985 (1985-03-11) (age 26) 1 0 PAOK 5 MF Giorgos Theodoridis 3 June 1980 (1980-06-03) (age 31) 2 0 Panetolikos 6 MF Alexandros Tziolis 13 February 1985 (1985-02-13) (age 26) 31 1 Racing Santander 10 MF Giorgos Karagounis 6 March 1977 (1977-03-06) (age 34) 114 8 Panathinaikos 16 MF Grigoris Makos 18 January 1987 (1987-01-18) (age 24) 10 0 AEK Athens 18 MF Giorgos Fotakis 29 October 1981 (1981-10-29) (age 30) 8 2 PAOK 20 MF Panagiotis Kone 26 July 1987 (1987-07-26) (age 24) 9 0 Bologna 21 MF Kostas Katsouranis 21 June 1979 (1979-06-21) (age 32) 88 9 Panathinaikos 7 FW Giorgos Samaras 21 February 1985 (1985-02-21) (age 26) 51 7 Celtic 9 FW Angelos Charisteas 9 February 1980 (1980-02-09) (age 31) 88 25 Panetolikos 11 FW Kostas Mitroglou 12 March 1988 (1988-03-12) (age 23) 11 0 Atromitos 14 FW Dimitris Salpigidis 18 August 1981 (1981-08-18) (age 30) 54 6 PAOK 17 FW Theofanis Gekas 23 May 1980 (1980-05-23) (age 31) 55 21 Eintracht Frankfurt 23 FW Nikos Liberopoulos 4 August 1975 (1975-08-04) (age 36) 74 13 AEK Athens

Recent callups

The following players have not been called up for the upcoming matches but have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Dionisis Chiotis 4 June 1977 (1977-06-04) (age 34) 1 0 APOEL v.  Georgia, October 11, 2011 GK Michalis Sifakis 9 September 1984 (1984-09-09) (age 27) 11 0 Aris Thessaloniki v.  Latvia, September 6, 2011 GK Dimitrios Konstantopoulos 29 November 1978 (1978-11-29) (age 32) 1 0 AEK Athens v.  Ecuador, June 8, 2011 GK Stefanos Kotsolis 5 June 1979 (1979-06-05) (age 32) 4 0 Panathinaikos v.  Ecuador, June 8, 2011 DF Kyriakos Papadopoulos 23 February 1992 (1992-02-23) (age 19) 6 2 Schalke 04 v.  Georgia, October 11, 2011 DF Ioannis Skondras 21 February 1990 (1990-02-21) (age 21) 0 0 Atromitos v.  Georgia, October 11, 2011 DF Nikos Spiropoulos 10 October 1983 (1983-10-10) (age 28) 27 1 Panathinaikos v.  Georgia, October 11, 2011 DF Loukas Vyntra 5 February 1981 (1981-02-05) (age 30) 42 0 Panathinaikos v.  Georgia, October 11, 2011 DF Giannis Zaradoukas 12 December 1985 (1985-12-12) (age 25) 4 0 Olympiacos v.  Croatia, October 7, 2011 DF Georgios Tzavelas 26 November 1987 (1987-11-26) (age 23) 5 0 Eintracht Frankfurt v.  Latvia, September 6, 2011 DF Vangelis Moras 26 August 1981 (1981-08-26) (age 30) 15 0 Swansea City v.  Ecuador, June 8, 2011 DF Dimitris Siovas 16 September 1988 (1988-09-16) (age 23) 0 0 Panionios v.  Canada, February 9, 2011 MF Thanos Petsos 5 June 1991 (1991-06-05) (age 20) 1 0 Kaiserslautern v.  Georgia, October 11, 2011 MF Ioannis Fetfatzidis 21 December 1990 (1990-12-21) (age 20) 11 3 Olympiacos v.  Latvia, September 6, 2011 MF Pantelis Kafes 24 June 1978 (1978-06-24) (age 33) 40 3 AEK Athens v.  Israel, September 2, 2011 MF Sotiris Ninis 3 April 1990 (1990-04-03) (age 21) 18 2 Panathinaikos v.  Israel, September 2, 2011 MF Vasileios Pliatsikas 14 April 1988 (1988-04-14) (age 23) 5 0 MSV Duisburg v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 10, 2011 MF Andreas Tatos 3 April 1990 (1990-04-03) (age 21) 0 0 Atromitos v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 10, 2011 MF Panagiotis Lagos 18 July 1985 (1985-07-18) (age 26) 9 0 AEK Athens v.  Poland, March 29, 2011 MF Ioannis Papadopoulos 9 March 1989 (1989-03-09) (age 22) 1 0 Dynamo Dresden v.  Austria, November 17, 2010 FW Stefanos Athanasiadis 24 December 1988 (1988-12-24) (age 22) 2 0 PAOK v.  Georgia, October 11, 2011 FW Giorgos Georgiadis 14 December 1987 (1987-12-14) (age 23) 3 0 PAOK v.  Latvia, September 6, 2011 FW Lazaros Christodoulopoulos 19 December 1986 (1986-12-19) (age 24) 6 0 Panathinaikos v.  Ecuador, June 8, 2011

Past squads

FIFA World Cup squads 1994 FIFA World Cup squad 2010 FIFA World Cup squad

UEFA European Championship squads UEFA Euro 1980 squad UEFA Euro 2004 squad UEFA Euro 2008 squad

FIFA Confederations Cup squads 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup squad

Most Appearances

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Theodoros Zagorakis	1996–2007	120	3
2	Giorgos Karagounis	1999–	114	8
3	Angelos Basinas	1999-2009	100	7
4	Stratos Apostolakis	1986-1998	96	5
5	Antonis Nikopolidis	1999-2008	90	0
6	Kostas Katsouranis	2003–	88	9
7	Angelos Charisteas	2001–	88	25
8	Dimitris Saravakos	1982-1994	78	22
9	Stelios Giannakopoulos	1997-2009	77	12
10	Anastassios Mitropoulos	1978-1994	77	8

Most goals

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps
1	Nikos Anastopoulos	1977-1988	29	73
2	Angelos Charisteas	2001–	25	88
3	Dimitris Saravakos	1982-1994	22	78
4	Mimis Papaioannou	1963-1980	21	61
5	Theofanis Gekas	2005-	21	55
6	Nikos Machlas	1993-2002	18	61
7	Demis Nikolaidis	1995-2004	17	54
8	Panagiotis Tsalouchidis	1987-1995	16	76
9	Giorgos Sideris	1958-1970	14	28
10	Nikos Liberopoulos	1996–	13	74

Managers

All the managers in team's history.^[1]

Name Nationality Years Fernando Santos 2010– Otto Rehhagel 2001–2010 Vassilis Daniill 1999–2001 Anghel Iordănescu 1998–1999 Kostas Polychroniou 1994–1998 Alketas Panagoulias 1992–1994 Antonis Georgiadis 1989–1992 Alekos Sofianidis 1988–1989 Miltos Papapostolou 1984–1988 Christos Archontidis 1982–1984 Alketas Panagoulias 1977–1982 Lakis Petropoulos 1976–1977 Alketas Panagoulias 1973–1976 Billy Bingham 1971–1973 Lakis Petropoulos 1969–1971 Dan Georgiadis 1968–1969 Panos Markovits 1966–1968

Name Nationality Years Lakis Petropoulos 1964–1966 Tryfon Tzanetis 1960–1964 Paul Baron 1959–1960 Rino Martini 1957–1959 Kostas Andritsos 1956–1957 Ioannis Chelmis 1955–1956 Antonis Migiakis 1954–1955 Kostas Negrepontis 1953–1954 Antonis Migiakis 1951–1953 Kostas Negrepontis 1938–1951 Kostas Konstantaras 1935–1938 Apostolos Nikolaidis 1934–1935 Kostas Negrepontis 1933–1934 Lefteris Panourgias 1932–1933 Jan Kopsiva 1930–1932 Apostolos Nikolaidis 1929–1930

Records and statistics

Competitive results

These are Greece's results in the three major competitions that they have participated in. The results in the main tournaments have been listed directly in the total column.

As of October 11, 2011

Competition	Total							Home					Away
	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	W	D	L	GF	GA
FIFA World Cup	110	41	22	47	127	170	−43	26	10	15	72	54	15	12	32	55	116
UEFA EURO	113	56	22	35	163	123	+40	33	5	12	97	50	24	17	23	68	84
FIFA Confederations Cup	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4	–	–	–	–	–	0	1	2	0	4
Total	225	96	45	84	288	296	−8	59	15	27	167	103	37	30	57	121	193

Total results by opponent

Against	P	W	D	L
Albania	13	6	3	4
Argentina	2	0	0	2
Armenia	3	2	1	0
Australia	9	3	3	3
Austria	11	3	5	3
Belarus	1	1	0	0
Belgium	6	3	1	2
Bolivia	1	0	1	0
Bosnia and Herzegovina	5	4	1	0
Brazil	2	0	1	1
Bulgaria	24	6	6	12
Cameroon	1	0	0	1
Canada	4	3	1	0
Chile	1	1	0	0
Colombia	1	0	0	1
Croatia	6	2	3	1
Cyprus	24	15	6	3
Czech Republic	4	2	2	0
Czechoslovakia	5	0	0	5
Denmark	16	3	4	9
East Germany	8	2	0	6
Ecuador	1	0	1	0
Egypt	9	4	2	3
El Salvador	2	2	0	0
England	11	1	2	8
Estonia	2	1	1	0
Ethiopia	3	3	0	0
Faroe Islands	2	2	0	0
Finland	12	7	2	3
France	14	2	3	9
Georgia	7	6	1	0
Germany	8	0	3	5
Ghana	1	0	1	0
Great Britain	1	1	0	0
Hungary	18	8	5	5
Iceland	2	2	0	0
Republic of Ireland	2	1	1	0
Italy	16	1	6	9
Israel	17	9	5	3
Japan	1	0	0	1
Kazakhstan	3	3	0	0
North Korea	1	0	1	0
South Korea	3	0	1	2
Latvia	6	3	2	1
Libya	1	1	0	0
Liechtenstein	1	1	0	0
Lithuania	1	0	0	1
Luxembourg	8	8	0	0
Malta	10	7	2	1
Mexico	4	1	2	1
Moldova	5	4	1	0
Morocco	1	0	1	0
Netherlands	9	0	1	8
Nigeria	3	2	0	1
Northern Ireland	5	4	0	1
Norway	7	3	2	2
Palestine	2	2	0	0
Paraguay	1	0	0	1
Poland	15	3	2	10
Portugal	13	5	4	4
Qatar	1	1	0	0
Romania	32	7	8	17
Russia	10	1	5	4
San Marino	2	2	0	0
Saudi Arabia	2	1	1	0
Scotland	2	1	0	1
Serbia	1	1	0	0
Slovakia	3	1	1	1
Slovenia	4	3	1	0
Spain	12	2	2	8
Senegal	1	0	0	1
Soviet Union	11	2	0	9
Sweden	6	2	3	1
Switzerland	12	2	3	7
Syria	2	2	0	0
Turkey	11	3	2	6
Ukraine	6	2	2	2
United States	1	0	1	0
Wales	2	1	0	1
Yugoslavia	22	2	3	17
Total	519	191	122	206

FIFA ranking history

Greece's history in the FIFA World Rankings. The table shows the position that Greece held in December of each year (and the current position as of 2011), as well as the highest and lowest positions annually.

Year	Position	Highest	Lowest
1993	34	32	36
1994	28	28	37
1995	34	23	34
1996	35	30	45
1997	42	29	46
1998	53	42	66
1999	34	30	46
2000	42	31	42
2001	57	43	61
2002	48	46	59
2003	30	26	48
2004	18	14	36
2005	16	12	20
2006	16	14	32
2007	11	11	16
2008	20	8	20
2009	12	11	20
2010	12	11	13

Honours

• European Championship : 1

2004

Other distinctions

• World Soccer: 1

World Team of the Year 2004

• FIFA Fair Play Award: 1

FIFA Fair Play Trophy 2005

• Laureus World Sports Awards: 1

Team of the Year 2005

See also

• Greece national under-21 football team
• Greece national under-19 football team
• Greece national under-17 football team

References

1. ^ "Greece National Team Coaches". rsssf.com. http://rsssf.com/miscellaneous/grk-coach.html. Retrieved 6 September 2009. 

External links

• Hellenic Football Federation (Greek) (English)
• Greece on FIFA.com
• Greece on UEFA.com
• Rec. Sport. Soccer Statistics Foundation: Greece – International Matches – Overview
• Greece at the National Football Teams website

Preceded by 2000 France	European Champions 2004 (First title)	Succeeded by 2008 Spain
Awards
Preceded by England Rugby Union Team	Laureus World Team of the Year 2005	Succeeded by Renault F1