The Greek national team is ready for yet another “upset,” as it faces the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday night (Nov. 13) for Matchday 5 of the Nations League, aiming to remain undefeated in the group and become the undisputed favorite to finish first in the group.
Ivan Jovanović, speaking at the press conference, commented on the difficulty of this particular match, answered a question about Dimitris Kourbelis’s condition, and discussed how the “blue-and-whites” will approach the match.
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In detail:
How different is the start now compared to the beginning of the tournament: “The thing is, every time it feels like it’s the first game. After two weeks with four matches, a month has passed, and we’re back together for two or three days to fine-tune our game. Every time is a fresh start. From a coaching perspective, I’m referring to the time available with the players and our responsibilities toward Greek soccer. Not much changes. We have a team that enjoys these games. In the first four games, we were quite competitive. We have two tough games left, and we want to finish in the best possible way.”
Regarding Dimitris Kourbelis: “He hasn’t trained yet today. He did a little individual work. We’ll see how things go today. This creates a challenge, especially with Zafeiris’s yellow cards in midfield. We’ll have to deal with it. We’re waiting to see how he responds in training and to what extent we can count on him.”
How different will Greece’s approach be compared to the match at Toumba: “Just like in all the games so far. In some, we may have succeeded to a greater extent in playing the way we want to. In others, the opponent’s quality and strength force you to take on a more passive role. The important thing is to understand when and why we find ourselves in that role and what we need to do to be a threat ourselves.
I don’t think there’s any difference compared to previous games. In some games, more depends on us, and in others, on the opponent. We always have to stay focused and be ready to play our game.”
Do you expect anything different from the Netherlands? “No. He sticks to the same style. He’s a coach who comes from a school with a specific way of playing. He wants to dictate the pace and maintain control. He relies on the ability to play vertical soccer and combine passes outside the box. The Netherlands has amazing skill and is one of the few teams capable of creating scoring chances in tight spaces.
Perhaps things will change now that there are two games left—both crucial for the Netherlands and for Germany. The last two will determine the group’s outcome. The pressure to get a result is mounting even more.”
Xavi said Greece is a tough opponent. What do we expect from ourselves? “A good, competitive game. Starting tomorrow, we’ll fight for our chances to secure the best possible position in the group. In previous matches, self-sacrifice and self-denial were at their highest level. That’s not enough for a good result.”
Dinos Mavropanos spoke on behalf of the players:
On the Netherlands: “The Netherlands is a quality team. We saw that in the second half at Toumba. We expect the same aggressiveness, looking for gaps in the opponent’s midfield.”
The Greek center back also highlighted the presence of the national team’s fans in Amsterdam, emphasizing that their support serves as an extra motivation for the national team players.
On the presence of Greek fans: “It’s a great joy for us to have our fans here with us. It will give us great strength. It motivates us to give our best for our fans, and this support makes us even stronger.”
*photo source: epo.gr
