FIFA Ranking: 12 Most Caps: Giorgios Karagounis 132 Most Goals: Nikos Anastopoulos 29 Coach: Fernando Santos It has been a decade since Greece under Otto Rehagel surprised and bored everyone to victory at the 2004 European Championships. It remains their only success and the only one for the foreseeable future. Two members of that squad Kostas Katsouranis and Giorgios Karagounis are included in Fernando Santos's squad. A relatively successful manager in the Greek Superleague the Portuguese native has his contract expire whenever Greece depart the tournament and despite the fact their ranking is higher than that of other group opponents Japan and Ivory Coast it is likely he will get plenty of time to enjoy himself this summer along with his squad. Qualification was slightly perilous despite the weakness of the group and it showed up a real lack of goalscoring threat. The defence was key to achieving a playoff match against Romania and a trip to Brazil. That defence is experienced and the likely custodian between the posts will be Orestis Karnezis on loan from our brethren Udinese to Granada where has been in excellent form despite the travails of that club. His back up given the often comical errors Glykos can commit should be the giant youngster Stefan Kapino (who should he develop as has been will rival Courtois in both stature and success). Santos has stuck with a 4-3-3 formation in qualification with pacy wing/fullbacks supplementing the attack. These will likely be Holebas down the left and Torosidis down the right. The centre of defence is a real strength of the Greek team with the pace and ability to read the game of Dortmund's Sokratis Papastathopoulos. The absence of Hummels and Subotic in many games this season has been barely noticed and Sokratis was named to the Bundesliga XI of the season. His partner but for injury should have been Schalke (and a Liverpool target) Kiriakos Papadopoulos whose aerial ability would have complemented him perfectly. He has unfortunately for Santos been ruled out by a knee injury meaning his spot should be taken by Kostas Manolas. With just three natural centrebacks should be there disciplinary issues (as at the last Euros) one can expect Vyntra or Tzavellas to drop in. Giannis Maniatis is the favoured choice to anchor the midfield providing defensive coverage for his centrebacks and to fill in when Holebas goes sprinting down the left. Santos is likely to favour Karagounis and Katsouranis infront of him. This is provoking some controversy. Most Greeks do not expect the side to do anything special and would prefer to see youth thrown in with an eye to the future. And given the climatic conditions they will face in Natal and Recife KK and Karagounis may well struggle. Most fans argue for the inclusion of Panagiotis Kone and Tachtsidis to provide some degree of creativity with Kone capable of the spectacular as he has shown at Bologna despite the relegation they suffered this season. Sotiris Ninis the wunderkind of Greek football has had a rather indifferent season which led to his exclusion but strangely not that of Mitroglou. Deemed an expensive flop the focal point of the front three does have plenty of quality with unfortunate injuries ruling him out of being able to help Fulham avoid the drop. Nonetheless his past form and qualities and goals in qualification earned him his spot ahead of promising youngster Nikolaos Karelis althiough doubts about his match fitness should see Theofanis Gekas start the first match. His partners in crime are likely to be Salpingidis and Samaras both hugging the flanksand looking to hit the channels between the opposition centrebacks and fullbacks. Salpingidis has not disappointed despite his years in qualification with several sterling performances. However many are disappointed by these choices with many hoping to see Giannis Fetfatzidis crack the starting line up. A dimunitive player at just five foot five inches he is blessed with a bag of tricks, dribbling ability and speed to outwit most defenders which has seen many scouts turn up at Genoa to watch his performances. He should given his abilities demand the ball more readily but often defers to the old stagers in the midfield. If given the chance he I think should shine brightly and herald a positive future for the Greek national side. Unfortunately Santos is likely to use him as an impact player akin probably to the role a Barkley may take. A shame for the player born in Drama, something he could provide plenty of. As with the other two efforts at the World Cup in 1994 and 2010 it will be another Greek tragedy. All three other teams in their group Japan, Colombia and the Ivory Coast will have too much quality in comparison. Star player Giannis Fetfatzidis: [video=youtube;e11HTEPaaOE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e11HTEPaaOE[/video] FIFA Team Profile: National Anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VkPRU6C-JQ
Went for Colombia & an ambitious Japan. Was thinking Ivory Coast but they always seem to flatter to deceive.
FIFA Ranking: 46 Most Caps: Yasuhito Endo 141 Most Goals: Kunishige Kamamoto 80 Coach: Alberto Zaccheroni Under Alberto Zaccheroni the Blue Samurai are progressing rather nicely. Like their regional foes the South Koreans more and more players have progressed into Europe. However their numbers and ability has been far more high end particularly in recent seasons with better coaching in the junior sections of the J-League clubs producing technically able players who use technique and tremendous discipline and work rate to compensate for any physical outmatching by bigger teams. Their performance at last years Confederations Cup was a mere spotlight into how both the men and womens teams have perfected their pass and move style and neat triangles to create aesthetically pleasing attacks which troubled all the opponents they have faced outside of the AFC while demolishing those within the AFC resulting in them being the first team to qualify for Brazil. Despite losing all three games last year the experience of having played in the north east where they will play two fixtures, will serve them well as will their possession neat passing style. And of those games lost the first against Brazil was more down to jet lag while they gave Italy and Mexico stern examinations but failed to convert the many chances they created. This is the weakness in the side as is the relative weakness of the goalkeeping. However the form of Shinji Okazaki is encouraging as seen in the Bundesliga this season and the attacking trio behind him including Kagawa on the inside left ,love to cut in from the flanks to create opportunities. Playing a 4-2-3-1 the teamwork of the team should see them with more than a chance of qualifying against Greece, Cote d'Ivoire and Colombia and with tremendous experience in the form of Endo and Konno to call on if required. The star players expected to carry the side will be Kagawa and Honda both gifted technicians who link up well with Okazaki for the national side and allow both fullbacks to come into play. Honda in particular can unlock any defence: [video=youtube;y0cRJPGMqhE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0cRJPGMqhE[/video] FIFA Team Profile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR37y8EtLRs National Anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29FFHC2D12Q
FIFA Ranking: 8 Most Caps: Carlos Valderrama 111 Most Goals: Arnoldo Iguarán 25/68 games Coach: Jose Pekerman Colombia arrive in Brazil having qualified with comfort from CONMEBOL. Aside from a 2-1 home reverse under Leonel Alvarez which saw him replaced by the current incumbent Jose Pekerman it has all been rather smooth sailing under the guidance of a manager who is replete with footballing wisdom. Argentina were rather unfortunate not to succeed in 2006 under his guidance and he was along with Hugo Tocalli the man who brought through the current generation of Argentine stars. Colombia itself is where Argentine footballing culture transplanted itself early in the twentieth century, sharing the same fierce fan passion and hosting for a time greats such as Adolfo Pedernera and di Stefano. However despite it's population being one and a half times greater than Argentina though a fraction of Brazil's success on the pitch has been scant with just one Copa America title to their name in 2001. The last time Colombia made an appearance was in 1998 and one veteran the keeper Mondragon remains from that debacle. 1994 remains shrouded in controversy and the death of Andres Escobar where a side that was playing some of the finest football on the planet led by bushy haired wizard Carlos Valderrama imploded and went out in the group stages. This is most unlikely to happen under the guidance of Pekerman. Although onlookers may have thought the loss of the lead figure of Radamel Falcao would knock any chances of success in Brazil for six, they would be very much mistaken. Pekerman has a distinct style which has shaped Los Cafeteros into a side pleasing on the eye and with a sprinkling of older and plenty of young talent that has emerged at just the right time. Which makes Andy B ellend's assertions as usual on ITV even more comical. During qualification they have also notched up wins over Belgium in Brussells and fought a draw against Brazil with relative ease. Pekerman relies as usual on possession to form a key part of a defence that was the tightest in qualification from CONMEBOL. However he has utilized the extra pace of several players particularlt the fullbacks to form a team that is much faster in transition than Argentina were in 2006. In goal Pekerman will hope he does not experience the misfortune that saw Pato ruled out in the quarterfinal. David Ospina has plenty of experience, controls his area and is a fine keeper in all aspects but his two deputies lack much experience and a step down in quality. The team lines up with a back four. At it's heart is veteran Mario Yepes who relies now on his reading of the game while his partner Zapata a former Udinese man has plenty of pace to burn. After a slow start at Milan his reading has improved and also his rather clumsy efforts to pass the ball to such an extent that he is more than reasonable in contributing to building play. Balanta will in time replace Yepes. It may be given his maturity that he should replace Yepes. He is far more mobile, solid aerially and comfortable at passing the ball out of defence and is one of the youngsters that could meld themselves into the established line up with ease. Pablo Armero another who passed through at Udinese (Colombia being a favoured recruiting ground) also has express pace,incredible stamina and will provide plenty of crosses from the left while also unleashing what is a very powerful shot. On the other side Juan Zuniga also provides a fair amount of pace and crosses from the right. Given the 4-2-2-2 Argentine formation Pekerman uses this allows space for both fullbacks to run into. And when they do with frequency two sitting defensive midfielders slot into the space vacated. Pekerman also has the services of young Santiago Arias to supplement Zuniga. A mature player for his age Arias also brings the same qualities of Zuniga albeit with less experience. Of the two defensive midfielders they are far more than that. While one is supposed to act as the destroyer and it is likely to be Carlos Sanchez of Elche, the other will have to contribute by building play. This is will be Abel Aguilar. A good passer with all round vision Aguilar can hit long diagonals to overlapping fullbacks or the two strikers upfront. Tucked ahead of him on the left and right will be two spectacular talents. On the right is Fiorentina's Juan Cuadrado a player Udinese let slip through their fingers. A player with real place and ability to carry the ball into the box, provide assists as well as possessing a knack for scoring goals he is integral with Zuniga down the right. Such have been his performances this season he was one of the best players in serie A and is attracting interest from several elite clubs. On the left is the precocious James Rodriguez. Blessed with an eye for a pass, great dribbling skills and an eye for goal he has matured with his decision making and ability to control the tempo of a game. He could if Pekerman requires it in a shift of formation to a 4-2-3-1 move to a central playmaking role. Pekerman could should he decide to pick his favoured playmaking formation also opt to choose young Juan Quintero. He has in the last embers of the season lit up a dismal season for Porto. A natural enganche he is blessed with all the attributes such a player requires. Dribbling, passing short and long of a high accuracy, a natural flair and the ability to hit long range strikes and score goals by getting into the box. Alternatively if Pekerman wants a more direct option he could go for Freddy Guarin in the hole and provide more of a defensive option with his working hard from the front. The top two in the 4-2-2-2 are fully expected to work hard from the front in creating chances and defending and to drift out wide and into midfield to build combinations around the box. The fluidity of the Colombian attack is a joy to watch and even the loss of Falcao does not diminish this as Colombia have plenty of options in fine form so much so that a player like Luis Muriel (who Pekerman feels lacks tactical discipline) has been omitted. Teofilo Gutierrez is the preferred choice despite some erratic performances (and a hothead) with his hard running into channels. His partner could be anyone from four. Victor Ibarbo often plays between midfield and the box with surging runs or acting as a very advanced playmaker for both fullbacks on either flank. For a more attacking option Jose could look to Jackson Martinez, Carlos Bacca and Adrian Ramos. Bacca is the most natural of the three finishers. All work extremely hard and all particularly Ramos are very decent aerially. Ramos a winner of the Golden Boot at the 2003 u17 World Cup was one of the best players in the Bundesliga and has earned a move to Borussia Dortmund. Bacca showed the same relationship with Rakitic he could form with James Rodriguez and Quintero, dropping into space, being effective on the counter and hard to dispossess. All in all with their fluidity, ability to dominate the ball, a solid keeper and plenty of goals in them Colombia with the wisdom of Pekerman and his staff should go far. And that in itself will be a success for a country that has woefully underperformed in all it's previous visits to the greatest stage of them all. Tactics: There are several players in this team that I love watching but being a fan of skill over physique Juan Quintero is a throwback to players of yesteryear. His talent is immense and should entertain all fans of football. [video=youtube;LGDXDho43TE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGDXDho43TE[/video] FIFA Team Profile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67813ps8cR4 National Anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPSL78YDyZY
FIFA Ranking: 23 Most Caps: Didier Zokora 119 Most Goals: Didier Drogba 65 Coach: Sabri Lamouchi FIFA Team Profile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mop073orrI National Anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMeKOVYilxE
I knew Colombia were a good side, but with them missing Falcao, I wasn't too sure how far they could go.... Granted they haven't faced two world class teams but you can only beat what's in front of you, and they're doing just that, looking a very interesting, very intriguing attacking side who are a pleasure to watch.
Wow....what an end to the Greece v Ivory Coast match. Greece get a penalty in injury time to win 2-1 which sent them through to play Costa Rica.
