Greece optimistic about World Cup chances

Defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos said winning the World Cup opener against Colombia will be crucial for Greece. [Hellenic Football Association]

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).

Ten years after stunning the international sports establishment by winning the UEFA Euro 2004 championship with a victory against host Portugal, and 20 years after its inauspicious World Cup debut, Greece is back on world football's biggest stage.

After being outscored 10-0 and losing all three matches in its first World Cup appearance two decades ago, Greece failed to qualify for the next three World Cups. In 2010 Greece returned and won a World Cup match for the first time, though the team lost its other two group matches and did not advance to the knockout round.

As it ventures to Brazil, the team is eager make its next stride.

Defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who plays for German club Borussia Dortmund and is considered the most prominent player on the Greek side along with recently released Celtic striker Giorgos Samaras, concurred with most pundits' views: Greece's first game against Colombia on June 14th will "make or break" its bid for second-round qualification.

"If we win the first game, we've seen [before] that with 4 points [gained in the first round] we can qualify for the next round. So, as you can understand, the match with Colombia is the key for our course at the World Cup," Papastathopoulos told reporters.

Asked to rate Greece's chances to advance past the group stage, Papastathopoulos, who began his pro career in Greece with AEK Athens, said the distinction is attainable, despite the difficulty of...

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