Papadopoulos: “The goal is to qualify for the European Hopes”

The new federal coach spoke about the goals of National Hope, Nikos Papadopoulos. The group’s priority is, as he stated, the qualification in the U21 European Championship.

Speaking about the friendly match of the National team against Hungary (24/3, 17:00, Rizoupoli), but also about the one against Lithuania (28/3, 17:00, Leoforos), he said:

“After the friendly match with Poland, we return to the matches with the National Team of Hope. What is important for us is that all the footballers are healthy and ready to fight, so that we can start our bid against Belarus with a win in the qualifiers for the European U21 Championship 2025. The premiere is always important in all competitions, especially now, where we are in a tough group with teams like Portugal and Croatia. We cannot underestimate any opponent and we must give 100% of our potential in all matches.”

He then stated: “The team’s goal is to qualify from the group, something that everyone in the team wants, and we will all fight together to achieve it. It is very important that we will play a friendly match against Hungary, who are a very strong team and have a lot of talented players in their squad. The most important thing for us is that through these matches we are given the opportunity to pass on to the footballers what we want them to do on the field during the match. We will be testing this match with the aim of a positive result to slowly build the winning mentality we want the team to have ahead of the European Championship qualifiers.”

From the players’ point of view, Christos Tzolis stated: “We are preparing for the two matches with Hungary and Belarus. We have a strong pre-season friendly with the Hungarian team ahead of our European Championship qualifier opener against Belarus. Everyone in the team wants to start our journey in the qualifying phase with a win and we are working on this goal in all the training sessions. The fact that we wear the coat of arms is the highest honor for all of us and I am sure that everyone in the team will give everything on the pitch.”

THE Kostas Tzolakis underlined: “We are happy about our concentration and our preparation. It’s a fresh start for the team, with a mix of old and new players. We will try through the training sessions and the friendly match with Hungary to find our homogeneity, but also a competitive rhythm in view of our premiere against Belarus. Personally, I feel very honored every time the coach calls me and I am ready to give my best to help the team achieve its goals.”

THE Fotis Kitsos for his part he noted: “The atmosphere in the team is excellent during our preparation. Our goal is victory in the premiere against Belarus. Being called up to the National Team is a huge honor for all footballers as it is for me. We are all lucky to represent our country in the matches with the National Team of Hope. We are all working extremely hard in training and with the guidance of our coach we will achieve the goals we have set.”