Greece - Team Profile - World Cup 2014

Greece 60 Second Team Profile | Brazil 2014 World Cup

Argentina powers into knock out stage

6:30 PM GMT, June 22, 2010
Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, South Africa



Greece
0 - 2
Argentina

Defender Martin Demichelis and substitute Martin Palermo succeeded where Argentina's multi-talented strikeforce had failed as they scored the goals to break Greece's resilience and end their World Cup hopes at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

Argentina's 2-0 victory over Greece - thanks to late goals from Martin Demichelis and veteran striker Martin Palermo - saw them top Group B with maximum points.

That contrasted sharply with their performances in the qualifying campaign - when they had to win their last two matches to reach South Africa.

Scoring Summary

Greece	Argentina
	Martín Demichelis (77')
	Martín Palermo (89')

Match Stats

Greece

Argentina

7(3)	Shots (on Goal)	22(12)
15	Fouls	8
1	Corner Kicks	10
0	Offsides	2
33%	Time of Possession	67%
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
9	Saves	0

Match Information

Stadium:	Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, South Africa
Attendance:
Match Time:	18:30 GMT
Official(s):	Ravshan Irmatov

Man of the Match: Clemente Rodriguez

MATCH SUMMARY

Man of the Match: Clemente Rodriguez- The left-back bombed forward at every chance and was a constant threat. Not the first name on the lips when you think of an Argentine defender, but he was excellent and it just goes to show what happens when you play a proper defender as a full-back.

Argentina verdict: Very comfortable on the ball, but they were hardly troubled. Going about their business quietly, Maradona was not forced into making any real decisions as Greece sat back. Argentina only needed a point and they won't have worked up much of a sweat picking up the win.

Greece verdict: Utterly awful. Even when they knew they needed to score goals and win the game, they didn't come out of their shell. Seemed very happy with a small defeat and some may say they showed a disrespect to the competition for playing as they did. They should regret not giving it a go.

Could do better: Otto Rehhagel - The man behind the tactics that bored everyone to death at Euro 2004 was at it again. Greece are by far and away the worst team to watch in the entire competition and Rehhagel really needs to change something if they are to ever be taken seriously.

Stat attack: At one point, Juan Sebastian Veron had more touches of the ball (98) that the top three players on Greece combined (97).

Argentina vs Greece - Preview

Greece
v
Argentina


Group B, 18:30 GMT, June 22, 2010
Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, South Africa

Team Stat Comparison

	Greece	Argentina
Matches Played	2	2
Table Position	3	1
Points	3	6
Goal Difference	-1	4
Goals for *	2.0	0.0
Goals against *	1.0	0.0
Last 5	W-L	W-W
Last 5 home	W	W-W
Last 5 away	L
*  Goals per match - home matches for home club and away matches for away club
Stats: Greece | Argentina

Competition Stats

	Greece	Argentina
Goals	Vasilis Torosidis 1	Gonzalo Higuaín 3
Assists
Yellows	Vasilis Torosidis 1	Jonás Gutiérrez 2
Squads: Greece | Argentina

Group Table

RK	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GS	GA	GD	Pts
1	Argentina	2	2	0	0	5	1	4	6
2	South Korea	2	1	0	1	3	4	-1	3
3	Greece	2	1	0	1	2	3	-1	3
4	Nigeria	2	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0

Top two teams qualify for the Second Round

Greece player to watch: Giorgos Karagounis.The"Greek Gattuso", as he is affectionately known, is not just a tenacious midfield dynamo, but the Greeks' creator-in-chief. Capable of playing in either defensive or attacking midfield, Karagounis has drifted between the two roles in the opening two games - looking particularly dangerous in an offensive capacity against Nigeria. Greece are renowned for their ability from set-pieces and Karagounis is the man they rely on to deliver.

Argentina player to watch: Carlos Tevez. The industrious Tevez failed to find the net in the first two fixtures but he has continued to be an effective outlet in harassing opposing defenders. He continues to demonstrate a high work rate and despite Diego Milito and Sergio Aguero waiting in the wings, Tevez's overall contribution to the team should mean he retains his place even if he continues to fire blanks.

Key Battle: Dimitrios Salpingidis v Gabriel Heinze - Salpingidis' purposeful display against Nigeria resulted in the Greece forward netting the equalising goal and he has the potential to be a menace when drifting out to the wings where he will look to exploit Jonas Guttierez's lack of defensive nous and Heinze's lack of pace. Argentina continue to be dominant in attack but it's at the back where question marks remain, with Heinze and defensive partnerMartin Demichelis prone to lapses in concentration.

Trivia: There are eight Panathinaikos players in Greece's World Cup squad, the largest representation by one club in any World Cup team. There are three clubs with seven representatives in one World Cup squad: Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain) and April 25 (North Korea).

Stats: Gonzalo Higuain (age 22 years, 189 days) became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match since Florian Albert (20 years, 261 days) against Bulgaria in 1962. Only two other Argentines aged 22 or younger have scored multiple goals in one game at the World Cup: Diego Maradona (age 21) in 1982 and Carlos Peucelle (21) in 1930.

Odds: Greece(6.00), Argentina (1.61), the draw (3.80) are all on offer at Bet365. A 1-0 win for Greece may seem like a long shot but it's priced at 13.00.

Prediction: Greece have to go all-out to win the game and they have proved under Rehhagel before that they are more than capable of holding on to one-goal leads at major tournaments. But their desire to get forward will open them up, and with Messi & Co waiting to pounce, Argentina have more than enough quality to emerge as winners.




Argentina 2-0.