2004 European Champions Greece are in the middle of preparations for their 2nd World Cup appearance. The first time they Greeks reached football's highest stage was during USA '94, where they neither scored a goal or achieved any points. With a record like this, it would seem that Coach
Otto Rehhagel can do no wrong. However,
Greece have developed a reputation as one of the strongest defensive sides in Europe and with the
Euro 2004 victory, much more will be expected of them.
Greece finished second in Group 2, making the cut by edging past Israel, Ukraine and Latvia. Since securing their ticket the team has underachieved expectations. A 2-0 home loss to Senegal was followed by a 2-2 draw against North Korea, who are ranked very low by FIFA. Greece's Group B includes
Nigeria,
South Africa and
Argentina: all formidable opponents. If Rehhagel wants to mount a serious challenge he needs to get his team on track with a solid pre-World Cup victory to raise confidence.
Paraguay have a much richer World Cup history than their European opponents. Three out of the last four World Cups have featured the side, all with mixed results. Their qualifying campaign was impressive in that they won 4 of their 5 opening games, enabling them to book a ticket with 9 points to spare. Group F will include
Italy,
Slovakia and
New Zealand, which will give the Paraguayans a good chance at making the knockout stages.
The South Americans have also had mixed results in their warmup campaign with draws against South Africa and Ivory Coast, a win against North Korea and a loss to Republic of Ireland. Paraguay are capable of performing, but perhaps their Achilles Heel is a lack of creativity up front. Against a stalwart defensive side such as
Greece, they may find themselves beating their heads against a brick wall.
Greece - Paraguay
Wednesday 2 June, 2010
Kickoff: 5:30 PM (GMT)
Venue: Schuetzenwiese (Winterthur)
Tip: Greece +0.25 (Asian Handicap)
Best Odds: 1.90 @ Betfair
