Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Olympic Stadium of Athens will host Thursday’s Nations League game between Greece and England. The Greeks are eyeing their sixth consecutive win in all competitions and they are surely capable of matching the Three Lions at home ground. Midfielder Dimitrios Kourbelis serves a one-game ban, while the opposition back-line should have Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis at bay.
Meanwhile, Lee Carsley has announced his final England squad ahead of the arrival of incoming manager Thomas Tuchel. Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope and Man City defender John Stones both miss out as well as Manchester United rising star Kobbie Mainoo. The likes of Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, and Bukayo Saka all made the cut. Anyhow, the share of spoils is on the cards in Athens as Greece are tough to beat at home. You should know that under 2.5 goals have been netted in three of their last five meetings in all competitions.
Highlighted Player (Harry Kane):
Widely regarded as one of England’s best strikers at the moment, Harry Kane enjoyed a meteoric rise at Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 21 Premier League goals during the 2014/2015 campaign to be voted PFA Young Player of the Year.
The highly rated striker went on to surpass that achievement the following season as he helped Tottenham Hotspur mount a serious title challenge for the first time in club’s recent history and he made seamless transition to international football. Kane scored four goals in his first ten appearances for England to prove he was here to stay and at the same time established himself as a first choice striker in Roy Hodgson’s squad ahead of the Euro 2016 finals.
Kane is a modern striker, who is extremely dangerous in the opposition box, but it was some outstanding goals from distance as well as link-up play with teammates that earned him an excellent reputation in world football. Kane is expected to lead both Tottenham and England in years to come, that is if he can resist the lure of top European clubs that continue to cast admiring glances his way.
Highlighted Team (Greece):
Former European champions Greece played their first official match on April 7, 1929, with the team suffering a heavy 4-1 loss to Italy in Athens. The Greeks booked their place at the FIFA World Cup finals in 1994 for the first time ever, but they failed to impress at the showpiece tournament in United States of America.
The Galanolefki were eliminated in the group stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup as well, but they made it to the knockout stages of the tournament in Brazil four years later. However, the Greeks were more than unfortunate not to book their place in the quarter-finals as they were beaten by Costa Rica on penalties. However, Greece did remarkably well to win the 2004 European Championship and that is considered the national team’s biggest success.
Otto Rehhagel outplayed the likes of France and Czech Republic in the knockout stages to set up a meeting with hosts Portugal in the title game. Thanks to Angelos Charisteas’ goal 12 minutes into the second half Greece won the European Championship.