Say Hallo to Sotiris Ninis… and Then Say Goodbye

This is Sotiris Ninis, the 18 year old Panathinaikos midfielder.

Greece coach Otto Rehhagel gave Ninis his international debut in yesterday’s friendly against Cyprus, and within five minutes the kid had scored as Greece went on to win 2-0.

Video is below.

Great start to an inernational career, right? So, we’ll be seeing Ninis at Euro 2008, right?

Well… probably not. Rehhagel withdrew Ninis at halftime and then left him out of the 24-man squad to play Hungary this Saturday.

There were a lot of senior squad members missing for the Cyprus game due to club commitments, which is why Ninis got his chance. But surely a debut like that deserves a second crack at the squad, doesn’t it?