Greece-Kazakhstan is a match valid for the Euro 2024 qualifying playoffs and is played Thursday at 8:45 p.m.: live TV, likely lineups, predictions.
Greece is the number one favorite in the path-breaking C League playoff, which puts up for grabs one of the last three remaining passes to the German European Championship, set to open its doors next June 14. The Hellenes, in terms of experience, history and tradition, are a step above Luxembourg, Georgia and Kazakhstan, three selections that. unlike them, have never taken part in the final stage of a major tournament.
Leading third in Group B, where the first two places were practically “booked” from the draw by the two biggies France and the Netherlands, the men coached by Uruguayan Gus Poyet nevertheless remained in the running until the penultimate day. What broke their dreams was a penalty by Dutchman van Dijk in the midst of recovery even though a draw would not have been enough to keep the qualification games open. Greece has not participated in the final stage of a European Championship since the 2012 edition, and the last international that saw them among the protagonists was the 2014 Brazilian World Cup. If it manages to qualify, it would fall into Group F, which also includes Turkey, the Czech Republic and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
The first obstacle is the surprising Kazakhstan, a selection that has made great strides in recent years. After an excellent Nations League, the Kazakhs, endowed with an excellent playing organization, have given national teams such as Denmark and Slovakia a run for their money, finishing fourth on equal points (18) with Finland. Six wins and four losses for the representative team led by Russia’s Magomed Adiev, who in the qualifiers took the cake to beat even the top-ranked Danes at the end of a resounding comeback.
The prediction
Kazakhstan has proven to be a tough nut to crack in recent qualifiers and, while inferior on a technical level, will almost certainly be able to create some headaches for Greece. However, the Hellenes, backed by greater international experience – and always winners in their three previous matches with the Kazakhs – should be able to get through the round and into the final. The number of total goals could be less than three.
The likely lineups of Greece-Kazakhstan
GREECE (3-5-2): Vlachodimos; Retsos, Chatzidiakos, Mavropanos; Rota, Bakasetas, Bouchalakis, Mantalos, Tsimikas; Pavlidis, Masouras.
KAZAKISTAN (3-4-1-2): Shatsky; Marochkin, Maliy, Bystrov; Zuyev, Beysebekov, Kuat, Vorogovsky; Zaynutdinov; Aymbetov, Chesnokov.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-0
