PREVIEW: Euro 2008 Group D, Greece v Sweden

Greece

vs

Sweden

Tuesday, June 10th, 2045 CET
Salzburg (Austria) - Travel to Salzburg

THE BIG PICTURE

This is a match of two teams with points to prove. Greece are defending European champions, but that famous victory four years ago is all but dismissed by many neutral fans and pundits as the ultimate freak result. They’re here at Euro 2008 to prove otherwise. Sweden made it to the quarterfinals in 2004, drawing Italy and taking the Netherlands to penalties before bowing out, and they too feel they deserve more respect than they have been given going into this tournament.

Greece

Three Key Players:
Antonios Nikopolidis - The 37-year-old keeper is surely in his last major tournament, and played absolutely out of his mind in 2004, conceding three goals in the tournament.
Traianos Dellas - The big AEK Athens defender is not known for style, but what he lacks in finesse, he makes up for in power and intimidation. Another important part of the 2004 title team, it will be his job to stop a certain Inter striker who will be mentioned momentarily.
Fanis Gekas - Along with Celtic man Georgios Samaras, Gekas is one of the few new faces on the Greek side. He is relatively new on the international scene, but he scored five in qualifying and looks now like a long-term fixture of the Greek attack.

Greek squad
Greece Team Profile

Team News: Giorgos Karagounis, the team’s playmaker, has been nursing a knee problem, but claims that he’s back to full speed. We’ll find out today.

Triviatastic: The last time a team came out of nowhere to win a European Championship was Denmark in 1992, and they followed it up at Euro 96 by failing to advance out of the group stages. At Euro 2000, defending champions Germany suffered a similar fate, earning only one point and finishing last in their group.

Visit Takis at the Greece Euro 2008 Team Blog for more.

Buy an Greece jersey.

Sweden

Three Key Players:
Zlatan Ibrahimović : When he is on form, there are few better at putting the ball in the back of the net, no matter who stands in front of him. Ibra has had injury worries, and can sometimes disappear, but make no mistake - he can take over a game.
Kim Källström : After his second season setting up goals for Lyon, he is ready to do so once again for his country. Ibra might be the man to finish off the Greek defense, but if he gets that chance, it might well be due to Kongo-Kim.
Henrik Larsson : On 95 caps, the man that Celtic fans still call King is looking for a bang to finally end (for good this time) his magnificent international career. He may have lost a bit of pace at 36, but I wouldn’t bet against him making some trouble. Even if he didn’t play, just having him on the bench will inspire the Swedes.

Sweden squad
Sweden Team Profile

Team News: Ibrahimović and midfielder Tobias Linderoth have both been touch-and-go throughout training, and though both are match fit, neither is likely to last an entire 90.

Triviatastic: Sweden has qualified for five straight major tournaments, dating back to Euro 2000, but they have not made it past the quarterfinals of any tournament since their third-place finish at World Cup 94.

Visit the Sweden Euro 2008 Team Blog for more.

Buy a Sweden jersey.

BIG BATTLES

Ibra vs Greece’s Defense This isn’t set to be a goalfest by any means (then again, neither was Holland-Italy), but the final scoreline might well depend on whether Zlatan and his knee are up to full strength. If so, it might be a long night for Greece’s tough-nosed central defenders. Then again, if I had a bad knee, the last thing I would want to see in front of me would be Dellas or Kyrgiakos.

The Old Greece vs. The New Greece Four years ago, the Greeks won their only major trophy virtually by defense alone. Running up to this tournament, they scored more goals in qualifying than any other team, twice as many as in qualifying for Euro 2004. Will they depend on what got them here (offense) or what led to success in the past (defense)? Or will they find that rarest of treasures - balance between the two?

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LIVEBLOG

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