Case of a half hour! THE Greece defeated Kazakhstan 5-0 in the OPAP Arena and booked a place for the final of the Euro 2024 playoffs, where they will face away from home Agriculture on Tuesday (26/03) at 19:00.
Gustavo Poget’s team cleaned up from the first half, with the Bakaseta, Pelka, Ioannidis and Kourbelis to find nets and simplify things, giving dimensions of triumph to the victory-qualification of the Blue and White – with own goal of Tapalov shaping the final result.
The eyes of the National team now fall on the big match in Tbilisi, where they will look for qualification in the final phase of German Euro.
In the coach’s mind
Formation 4-3-3 chose the Gustavo Poget, with Vlachodimos under the posts and Baldok, Mavropano, Hadzidiakos and Tsimika in defense. Kourbelis, Mandalos and Bakasetas formed the trio in midfield, with Masoura-Pelkas at the ends of the attack and Ioannidis at the top.
On the other hand, Mr Magomed Antigev took his team down with 5-4-1, having Satsky in goal and Bistrov, Marochkin and Erlanov in the stoppers – with Kairov-Vorogovsky on the wings. Chesnokov, Beisebekov, Zainutdinov, Astanov played in the midfield, with Samorodov in the attack.
The match
The first half was probably one of the greatest blue and white football performances we have seen…
Poget’s players showed their mood early on, with Pelka having it beam at 7′ and to win penalty kick a few seconds later!
THE Bakasetas took over the execution and nailed the ball into the net, opening the scoring in the 9th minute.
Before the Kazakhs fully recovered from 1-0, it came second goal for Greece! Scorer this time o Pelkaswho after Masoura’s ball from the right, scored with an impressive header in the 15th minute.
Three minutes later, Mavropanos was unable to score from close range, with Bakaseta having a shot out in the 21st minute.
In the 24th minute, it almost came out of nowhere to make it 2-1, with Chesnokov shooting from a wide position, the ball deflecting off a defender and ending up on the right beam of Vlachodimos.
A few minutes followed without the big phase, but they would come again in droves…
In the 37th minute, Masouras took the ball from Kourbelis and crossed from the right, with Ioannidis to be in the right place at the right time and raise the scoreboard at 3-0!
Greece, however, did not stop there, as just three minutes later the Kourbelis he also put his name on the scorers’ table, with a header after a ball from Tsimika…
With everything essentially decided from the first part, the visitors came stronger in the second and had three shots with Chesnokov and Bystrof, which, however, did not stress Vlachodimos.
From Greece’s side, the first notable phase came in the 51st minute, when after Masoura’s turn, his effort Mandala she ended up in his bodies too Bakaseta in Satsky’s arms.
In the 58th minute, Orazov had a good long-range shot that went just wide, with Vorogovsky heading just wide.
Gradually, the pace dropped, with opportunities dwindling. In the 73rd Bakasetas he shot from inside the area but saw the ball go against the bodies and change direction, ending up for a corner, while Satki saved the danger with a shot by Giakoumakis in the 84th minute.
The Kazakh goalkeeper, however, failed to do the same a minute later, when Tapalof he inadvertently sent the ball into his team’s net for the 5-0 in the 85th minute!
New good moments followed, with Giakoumakis (88′), Constantelia (89′) and Masoura (90′), with the ball not ending up in the net and 5-0 being the final score.
MVP: Many footballers stood out in Greece’s comfortable night, but we will give the title to Dimitris Pelkas. The 30-year-old midfielder opened the match by winning the penalty for 1-0 and making it 2-0 himself, cleaning up from the first quarter!
The… whistle: His refereeing is unremarkable Makeliin a match that was decided early on and that was probably one of the easiest of his career.
The teams’ lineups
Greece (G. Poget): Vlachodimos, Baldoc (67′ Rota), Mavropanos, Hatzidiakos (46′ Retsos), Tsimikas, Kourbelis, Mandalos, Bakasetas (73′ Bouchalakis), Masouras, Pelkas (63′ Konstandelias), Ioannidis (63′ Giakoumakis).
On the counter: Paschalakis, Dioudis, Tzavellas, Siopis, Pavlidis, Hatzigiovanis, Tzolis
Kazakhstan (M. Antigev): Satsky, Kairov (46′ Tapalov), Bistrov, Marochkin, Erlanov, Vorogovsky, Chesnokov (67′ Zuev), Beisebekov (46′ Sandibekov), Zainutdinov, Astanov (46′ Orazov), Samorandov (77′ Aibetov)
On the counter: Kuat, Valyulin, Tagibergen, Mali, Asrankulov, Ustimenko, Sayzada
Referee: Makeli
Assistants: Steigstra, Da Frye
4th: Lindut
VAR: Dieperink, Ruperty
See HERE the live of sport-fm.gr.
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
