Group D
Greece v Russia – Salzburg – Kick-off: 19:45
Greece look set to make changes to their 5-3-2 formation as their look to get their campaign back on track after the 2-0 defeat to Swede in their opening game.
Yannis Amanatidis or Nikos Liberopoulos could start as a third striker, meaning no place for Paraskevas Antzas.
Greece coach Otto Rehhagel deflected questions about about Greece’s tactics against Sweden in their opening game, but denied he had sent his side out to play negatively.
“We are not a team that can score goal after goal,” he said.
“It’s a free country and a free democracy and everyone can say what they like,” Rehhagel continued. “We respect that because we are from Greece, the home of democracy. It’s true that the last few days were difficult but we have recovered and we will be ready to tackle the match positively.
“I told all my players that one mistake may make the difference between victory and defeat. After one hour we made such a mistake [against Sweden], which is why we were unable to get a victory.”
Rehhagel acknowledged that his side faced a stern test against Russia.
“The Russians have a very young team and once they get going it is very difficult to stop them, so that is why we have to disrupt their stride,” he said.
Russia suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Spain in Innsbruck, and coach Guus Hiddink admitted his “young team” needed to “learn fast”, adding that there would be some changes against Greece.
“It’s like a final and I’m curious to see how our players manage, not just tactically but mentally and emotionally,” said Hiddink. “Many, many teams have the experience of playing in finals and the Champions League. It’s up to our players to see how they cope with playing in the finals.”
Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, who scored their goal against Spain, is a doubtful starter having strained an adductor muscle strain. Hiddink said everyone else was fit and insisted he had other options up front with Dmitri Sychev and Roman Adamov.
Hiddink played down Russia’s chances of making an impact on the tournament, although he added that defeating Greece should not be beyond his side.
“We are two outsiders – let’s be honest and face the facts,” he said. “The one who is the most lucky or the better team has a chance to play the last game [with an opportunity] to get into the next round.”
