The bombastic instrumental accompaniment to the Greece nationwide squad announcement was, fittingly, applicable for this historical cradle of civilisation.
Gus Poyet’s aspect have had a markedly completely different expertise of this Nations League marketing campaign in comparison with Northern Eire, however a forward-looking nation is set to not settle into complacency.
Tuesday’s encounter in Athens is the awful bookending of a dismal, bordering on determined, sequence for Ian Baraclough’s guests. In distinction, Greece have already gained League C, Group 2, securing promotion to the second division and they're a case examine of quiet effectivity.
4 video games performed, 4 victories earlier than they misplaced to 1-0 to Cyprus in Larnaca yesterday, the primary objective they'd conceded within the league.
On this occasion it seems the elevation of Greece on this competitors solely highlights the paucity of real challengers within the form of the Cypriots and Kosovo, in addition to the struggling Northern Irish.
There is no such thing as a escaping such a harsh and basic actuality for embattled Baraclough.
With just a few hundred of the Inexperienced and White Military anticipated to journey to Athens out of primary obligation over incentive, it’s hoped that Baraclough can in some way extract a optimistic climax from an unexpectedly wretched quadruple header in June.
Initially scheduled for the Panthessal Stadium in Volos, a cheerful place for Poyet, the place each Cyprus and Kosovo have been despatched, the sport towards Northern Eire has been moved to the Georgios Kamaras Stadium within the Greek capital.
A coach famous for risk-aversion, through a cautious, if finally triumphant, strategy to the corresponding tie in Belfast, Poyet nonetheless insists on requirements being met.
“It's a objective for us to enhance the crew and this can be a good take a look at for the long run,” defined the Uruguayan, previous to the present double header. “To have ardour and want to win. We now have had a wonderful preparation and I anticipate to see that the crew can reply to no matter comes their means.”
A few of that positive preparation emerged within the form of a 1-0 win at Windsor Park, the place a primary half objective by Anastasios Bakasetas was adequate to separate the groups.
Bakasetas, 29, is without doubt one of the most skilled operators at Poyet’s disposal, and the nation’s high scorer with three objectives within the competitors. The Trabzonspor midfielder is within the squad to face Northern Eire, and, within the view of a person at his peak with notably spectacular passing and possession statistics, represents extra real hazard to the boys in inexperienced.
Greece must do with out one other time-served operator in midweek, nonetheless, with 47-times capped Giorgos Tzavellas lacking. The AEK Athens enforcer, bizarrely, sustained a lower hand after lashing out at a glass on membership responsibility at half time in the course of the derby towards Panathinaikos. Poyet has chosen uncapped 18-year-old Konstantinos Koulierakis of PAOK to exchange the luckless Tzavellas.
Purists, naturally, are inclined to scoff on the Greeks’ 4-5-1 system beneath Poyet – however as Northern Eire discovered to their value, it's a technique which has harvested success within the group. A crew that closes ranks when going forward, and Celtic ahead Giorgos Giakoumakis might function as soon as once more on the Georgios Kamaras Stadium as he did at Windsor Park.
Accidents elsewhere and the general process of successful the group full, provides Poyet the chance to incorporate new faces. Midfielder Yiannis Papanikolaou and Panathinaikos attacker Fotis Ioannidis could possibly be ones for Northern Eire to observe at some stage of the night.
Continuity by way of personnel has been one other key to the hosts’ progress with 9 gamers that includes in all 4 successful matches, three of them with out lacking a minute of motion: goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos of Benfica, Liverpool cult hero Kostas Tsimikas at left again plus towering Dinos Mavropanos of Stuttgart on the coronary heart of the defence.