Greece suffers at the hands of ruthless Croatia

Greece will need a miracle on Sunday to overturn the 4-1 deficit from the first leg at the Maksimir Stadion in Zagreb on Thursday, as Croatia was a class above the error-prone Greeks on the night. The dream of a third consecutive World Cup now appears distant for the national team.

Greece coach Michael Skibbe fielded in Croatia a 3-6-1 formation that the national team had not tried before at this level, leaving large sections of its flanks exposed. He switched to a back-four defensive formation after 2-0.

The Croat wingers often toyed with the Greek midfield and defense and created too much trouble to a Greek side that had placed excessive emphasis on its central axis.

The negative signs were obvious from the start of the game, as the Greek team was unable to cross the halfway line for the first 10 minutes.

The Greek nerves became more obvious on the 11th...

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