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Germany 1-0 (ET) Argentina (Gotze 113')

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Game 5 Preview: Colombia vs. Greece

COLOMBIA vs. GREECE

 

 Date: June 14, 2014
Time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte
Overall Head-to-Head Record (W-L-T): 1-0-0 Colombia
Last Match: 1994 Friendly. Colombia def. Greece 2-0.
Line: Colombia -125
Group C Preview here.
Starting Lineups posted separately once they're announced.

Team Profiles 

World Ranking: Colombia (8th), Greece (12th)
Managers: Jose Pekerman (COL), Fernando Santos (GRE)
Captains: Mario Yepes (COL), Giorgos Karagounis (GRE)
World Cup Appearances: 5 (COL), 3 (GRE)
Best Finish: Colombia (Round of 16, 1990), Greece (Group Stage, Last in 2010)
Qualifying Records: Colombia (9-4-3, GF: 27, GA: 13), Greece (9-1-2, GF: 16, GA: 6)

Pre-Tournament Game Results

Colombia

May 31st - Colombia tied Senegal 2-2
June 6th - Colombia def. Jordan 3-0

Greece

May 31st - Greece tied Portugal 0-0
June 3rd - Greece tied Nigeria 0-0
June 6th - Greece def. Bolivia 2-1

Rosters































Injuries/Discipline

Colombia: Aldo Ramirez (Out - Permanently replaced by Carlos Carbonero). Fredy Guarin (Suspended)
Greece:

Overview

Group C kicks off with a battle between one of the most exciting offences in the tournament against the best defensive team in the world.

Colombia are returning to the World Cup after a 16-year absence but do so without star forward Radamel Falcao who is out with an ACL injury. Colombia will be looking to write some new world cup history for themselves. Their most notable point as so far was the shooting death of defender Andres Escobar, after he scored a devastating own goal in the 1994 World Cup.

Greece are a team in transition, struggling to find some balance between some up-and-coming new players and the aging group that led them to their only major title in the 2004 Euro. The identity of Greek soccer was defined in that tournament and persists on today. Able to squeak through on strong team defence and the occasional counter-attack, Greece have embraced that philosophy and have developed in to a model of team defence in the world.

Group C appears to be wide open as there is no truly elite team and all teams bring a different style of play to the table. Expect Greece to very cautious in this first contest and sit with 9 players back as per usual. They will rely heavily on Kostas Mitroglou up front as a target man to try and get a goal or 2 when they do get forward.

For Colombia, look for them to stretch the field vertically and horizontally with their speed to try and draw apart the compact Greek defence. Greece don't give a lot of space to operate so Colombia's primary task will be to create ways to do that.

Personnel

In the Colombian Third: Greece make few forays forward and aren't overly impressive when they do. Mitroglou has rarely played this year, Samaras is out of position on the wing and the central midfielders don't have the pace to impact the game with any speed. Advantage: Colombia

In the Midfield:See above re: the speed of the Greek midfielders, which is the exact opposite of the Colombians. Colombian midfield will need time to adjust to the slow Greek pace of play but should have the bulk of possession and not be pressed too hard pushing up the field. Advantage: Colombia

In the Greek Third:Papastathopoulos in particular is a star for Greece but this is a team that relies on solid communication and awareness amongst their whole team for an organized defence. Gave up 0.5 goals per game in qualifying and are known as the best defensive team around. Advantage: Greece

Goalkeeping:Ospina (Nice) and Karnezis (Granada) both play for top leagues in Europe. Ospina has more international experience and is a regular for his club though while Karnezis made only half a dozen appearances in La Liga this year. Advantage: Colombia

Colombia will win if:

They can use their speed to stretch the field down to the Greek end line and out to the wings. You absolutely have to space Greece as much as possible if you want quality scoring chances. Fortunately for Colombia they have speed in all parts of the field. It may take time but their pace of play should afford them some chances to get to goal as long as they make Greece run.

Greece will win if:

They can maintain their compact defensive shape and counter with long balls to the forwards to spring their attack. Colombia is probably the stiffest test Greece will face in the group because of their passing and speed. Greece need to be exceptionally careful and know where the attacking threats are coming from as they can't rely on their goalscoring in this game. When they do get possession, they have to look long, similar to how Netherlands were yesterday to catch the Colombian defence pushed up and get numbers quickly.

Prediction

I hate predicting Greece games as Greece goals for and against don't tend to come via the pattern of play. Usually they sneak out of nowhere and all of a sudden it's a new scoreline. Colombia may over-extend themselves to allow the Greeks a chance. Their speed may help them but without Falcao  I'm curious to see where the goals come from against this team.

I also hesitate to make this prediction given the wealth of goals so far in the tournament but I have to:

Colombia 0-0 Greece

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