Seeking to recover from back-to-back losses in Euro 2024 qualifying Group B, Greece welcome whipping boys Gibraltar to the Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens on Sunday night.

Gus Poyet's team were put to the sword 3-0 by the Netherlands last time out, while their visitors were most recently in friendly action against Malta, suffering a 1-0 defeat.

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Netherlands right-back Denzel Dumfries may be haunting the nightmares of Greece's international crop for days to come, as the Inter Milan defender set up all three Oranje goals during a first-half rout of Gus Poyet's team, who fell behind to a Marten de Roon half-volley inside 17 minutes.

A fierce Cody Gakpo strike and bullet header from Wout Weghorst - both of whom Dumfries supplied with accurate crosses - killed the game off at the Philips Stadion before the half-time whistle sounded, as Greece's top-two aspirations suffered another bitter blow.

Poyet's team had got off to the perfect start with back-to-back successes over Gibraltar and the Republic of Ireland, but having now come up short against France and the Netherlands without finding the back of the net once, Greece have been demoted to third spot in the rankings.

However, on account of their promotion to the second tier of the Nations League in 2022-23, Greece will qualify for the playoffs at the very worst, and only goal difference is separating them from the Netherlands in second place - the Dutch do possess a game in hand, though.

Furthermore, the hosts enter Sunday's game having gone unbeaten in their last four European Championship qualifiers on their own patch - winning each of their last three - but Greece are also without a home clean sheet at this stage of proceedings since 2011, offering Gibraltar a tiny glimmer of hope.

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With five teams gunning for qualification in Group B, Gibraltar pushed their competitive woes to one side on Wednesday night as they travelled east to take on Malta, but all Los Llanis had to show for their 3,500km journey was another defeat.

Joseph Mbong's 58th-minute strike was all that was required to separate the two nations in Ta' Qali, as Gibraltar fell to a fifth successive defeat without finding the back of the net, having started another doomed Euros qualification period about as well as expected.

A quartet of 3-0 losses to France, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Greece leaves Julio Cesar Ribas's team rock-bottom of the Group B standings with a -12 goal difference, and they are one of only three teams still without a point or a goal in qualifying - sharing that unwanted honour with San Marino and Liechtenstein, the only two UEFA nations they are ranked higher than.

Liechtenstein were one of two teams to fall to Gibraltar's superiority during end-of-year friendlies in 2022 - the other being Andorra - but those exhibition successes pale into insignificance when taking a peek at Los Llanis' Euros qualifying record, which reads 22 losses from 22 games.

In additon, the visitors have only ever scored twice away from home in Euros qualifying - breaching Scotland and Poland's backline in 2015 - and 390 spectators were in attendance to witness Ribas's side lose 3-0 to Greece at their temporary Estadio Algarve home in March.

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Owing to his red card in June's loss to France, West Ham United new boy Dinos Mavropanos sat on the naughty step for his side's beating at the hands of the Netherlands, but the 25-year-old is now back from his ban and should earn an immediate recall to the rearguard.

Panagiotis Retsos will likely be sacrificed to accommodate the former Arsenal man, while Kostas Tsimikas picked up a needless booking for handball last time out and is one game away from a ban, so Poyet may very well give Dimitris Giannoulis a chance to impress.

Alterations further forward are not beyond the realm of possibility given the calibre of opposition too, but with victory imperative on Sunday, Vangelis Pavlidis should still spearhead the charge as ever.

As for Gibraltar, left-back Bernardo Lopes was forced off the field with an unspecified injury in the 57th minute of their friendly loss to Malta, opening the door for Ethan Jolley, Jayce Olivero or 35-year-old Joseph Chipolina to return to Ribas's defence-heavy formation.

The latter's brother, 40-year-old Roy Chipolina, continues to don the captain's armband for Los Llanis and is poised to make his 70th appearance for his country here - a number already achieved by Liam Walker, who sits alongside the elder Chipolina brother at the top of the Gibraltar scoring charts with five apiece.

Walker will likely be given the nod in the final third alongside Tjay De Barr - who has made fleeting appearances for League One side Wycombe Wanderers this season - and 18-year-old Cadiz protege Nicholas Pozo.

Greece possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Chatzidiakos, Giannoulis; Kourbelis, Bouchalakis; Masouras, Bakasetas, Mantalos; Pavlidis

Gibraltar possible starting lineup:
Coleing; Sergeant, Santos, Hartman, R. Chipolina, Olivero; Walker, Britto, Ronan, De Barr; Pozo

We say: Greece 4-0 Gibraltar

A Greece team seeking to restore a sense of pride from beating at the hands of the Dutch will no doubt be a dangerous proposition for a feeble Gibraltar outfit, whose main focus will surely be keeping the scoreline as respectable as possible.

Even though Poyet's side have a safety net thanks to their Nations League success, the hosts should not rest on their laurels on Sunday and will be expected to march to an emphatic success with a few goals in tow.


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Written by
Ben Knapton

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