Sokratis Papastathopoulos

Belgium ended Greece's unbeaten run in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers on Sunday winning 2-1 in Piraeus.

The result means Greece has dropped to third at the table, one point behind Bosnia, while Belgium has qualified to the World Cup finals. Out of the two home games with Estonia and Belgium Greece has therefore collected just one point.

Greece failed to beat Estonia at home, conceding a goalless draw on Thursday in Piraeus for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, but the triumph of Cyprus over Bosnia in Nicosia (3-2) has stretched the advantage the Greeks have over the Bosnians to two points, with three games left to play in the group.

SOCCER: Olympiakos announced on Wednesday the signing of Serb striker Uros Djordjevic - who scored against the Reds in the Champions League qualifiers a few weeks ago - and Panathinaikos confirmed the acquisition of Malian holding midfielder Yacouba Sylla, formerly of Rennes and Aston Villa.

Greece coach Claudio Ranieri has been forced to make two more changes to his squad for Friday's Euro 2016 qualifer against the Faroe Islands due to injuries.

Borussia Dortmund want to use their high-flying Champions League form to help turn around their dire Bundesliga fortunes when they host Borussia Moenchengladbach on Nov. 9.
      

Cesare Prandelli said his side needed more time to get better following a 4-1 defeat on Nov. 4 at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

German international Marco Reus, on the transfer wish-list of several leading European clubs, slotted in the first goal after 39 minutes.

New Greece coach Claudio Ranieri announced Wednesday a 24-man squad for the first Euro 2016 qualifier against Romania at home on September 7.

Earning a first time call up were Olympiakos 21-year-old striker Dimitris Diamantakos and Levante's 29-year-old defender Nikos Karabelas.

Ranieri left out six players who helped Greece make it to the World Cup last 16.

By Nick Mulvenney

Greece played down a training ground bust-up between two players on Wednesday, saying they were "200 percent" focused on getting their World Cup campaign back on track with victory over Japan.

Greece optimistic about World Cup chances

Pundits and predictions say the team could advance past the group stage for the first time.

Editor's note: This is one in a series of stories previewing the 2014 World Cup and teams from Greece, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos will miss his country's next World Cup warm-up friendly with African champions Nigeria in the United States on Tuesday after suffering a biceps injury, the team's medical team announced on Sunday.