It was a dream and he is going for the national team...
Greece were beaten 4-2 on penalties (0-0 regular time and extra time) by Georgia in Tbilisi in the final of the playoffs and were left out of the final stage of Euro 2024 in a very bitter way. Bakasetas (1st) and Giakoumakis (4th) missed penalties, Mavropanos had a crossbar in the 102nd minute with a header.
In doing so, the blue and white lost a great opportunity to return to a major tournament after their participation in the 2014 World Cup, in which their run ended on penalties against Costa Rica.
The national team had a mediocre image during the normal duration of the match, it was harmless, while it did not risk much despite the thirst of the home team. In extra-time, she turned it up a notch and troubled both her opponents and the crowd, touching the goal just before the mini-break, with the West Ham stopper.
In the second half, Georgia's big star, Kvaratskelia, was knocked out with an injury, while she had lost Baldok (60') and Kourbelis (67') with a forced substitution, while Mandalos also asked for a substitution in the 99th minute.
The penalties
Kotsorashvili, 1-0
Bakasetas
Davitashvili, 2-0
Masouras, 2-1
Mikautze out
Bouchalakis, 2-2
Dvali, 3-2
Giakoumakis
Chakvetje, 4-2
In the coach's mind
A winning team - usually - does not change, with Poget following last Thursday's successful recipe against Kazakhstan. Choosing not just the 4-3-3, but also the same eleven. Vlachodimos started under the posts, Mavropanos and Hatzidiakos were the two stoppers, while Baldok and Tsimikas were at the ends of the defense. In role "6" Kourbelis, while Mandalos and Bakasetas were the inside midfielders, with Masoura and Pelkas at the ends of the attack and Ioannidis at the top.
Georgia lined up with 3-4-3. Mamardashvili was in the goal, Kverkvelia, Kasia and Dvali in the center of the defense. In the center Kitesvili in the role of six, Kotsorashvili and Kakvetatze were in front of him, while Kakabatze and Sengelia were on the right and left sides respectively. Zivzhivandze and Kvaratskelia were on the attack line.
The match
The National team had a clearly more difficult task compared to last Thursday's match and this became clear with the good morning. After all, he was playing in front of a hostile audience, which had been living and breathing for days for this particular match. Georgia entered the match with momentum, but in a half with mediocre Greece, they couldn't do anything special offensively.
In the 4th minute we can say that we were lucky, as Kvaratskelia pounced from the left and in a phase where our defense was not calm, he lost his balance, as a result of which the danger passed.
The first threat from the National team - and one of the two in the first half - was recorded in the 8th minute, when, after Hatzidiakos was stuffed, Ioannidis tried to get behind the opponent's defense, with
In the 11th minute, it was one of the most dangerous phases for the home team, with Kakvetze committing a foul and Dvali not getting a good header and the ball going just past the left post of Vlachodimos. After the twenty minute, Greece started to balance the situation, trying to impose their game, but the rise of the National team did not continue.
However, he almost found something good in the 37th minute. Ioannidis fought between two opponents on the edge of the area and the ball reached Pelkas who lost his balance inside the area. The last good moment in the first half and perhaps the best in this period happened in the 45th minute and it was for Georgia. Tsakvetze committed a foul and Vlachodimos cleared with one hand.
In the second half, Greece entered better, searching with more fervor the way to the opposing area and the opposing team felt it with some corners. With the entry of Konstantelias (instead of Pelkas) in the 60', the National team gained a little more unpredictability in the first minutes.
In the 70' the ball was laid to Bakaseta, who took a powerful shot just outside the area, but the ball found the bodies. By the time the 90 minutes were completed, the game continued to be poor in quality, with both teams taking fewer and fewer risks as time went on. Fatefully, the match went into overtime.
Another national team presented itself in overtime. After we did in the first half of it, as many finals as we didn't have in the rest of the match, with really good moments and we stressed them out. Even in public this passed. This should probably have happened sooner.
In the 96th minute, the first dangerous visit took place, with Masoura crossing, but Chimika not being able to threaten. In the 100', Mapakasetas made a good move outside the area, sending Mamardashvili away. The National team made it 1-0 in the 102nd minute, with Tsimika taking a corner from the left, Mavropanos winning in the air, but the ball ending up on the crossbar. We also had a good moment in the 103', with Rota's shot from a good position sending the ball wide. Out of nowhere we went to suffer at 105' the damage. Mavropanos made a cheap mistake, Mikautadze took the ball and turned it in from the right for Davitashvili and Vlachodimos to keep us up.
The continuity of Greece was not comparable in terms of phases. The home team played without their big "weapon" from the 108th minute, but found the mental reserves and two minutes later, Chitaishvili passed everyone, but was stopped by Vlahodemos. The National team got the ball at their feet, but did not find a very good moment in the second part of the overtime. The best was Masoura's weak header from Bouchalakis' ball. The last final of the match was Mikautatze's missed shot in the 120th minute.
Source: Sport-fm.gr