Pre-Game Ramble…

The Moldovans are the next opponents on Greece’s path to World Cup Glory (OK, maybe it’s a little bit early to picture Rehhagel metamorphosing into a Greek God by winning the greatest trophy on earth…) and as the German has pointed out, theirs is a culture derived from the Soviet school.

Cue potentially difficult encounter.

To give it a bit of historical context, the Moldovans provided Greece with as much of a problem as any other side during Euro 2008 Qualification. Had it not been for the substitutory exploits of Nikos Lyberopoulos, how different last summer could have been, particularly in light of the fact that one such winner arrived in Greece’s opening qualifying encounter – a crucial away victory over the Eastern Europeans.

The warning signs are certainly there: Moldova are a side steadily on the rise and earned three victories during their last qualifying campaign for a major international tournament. It was an unprecedented accomplishment for a nation who had previously only won one competitive international fixture.

Anyway, back to Greece, here’s a potential line-up (bearing in mind Karagounis’ injury and Seitaridis’ miraculous recovery): Chalkias, Kyrgiakos, Dellas, Seitaridis, Torosidis, Patsatzoglou, Basinas, Katsouranis, Gekas, Charisteas, Samaras

Then again, Papastathopoulos’ claim to a starting place is as good as anyone else’s. His recent form for Genoa suggests that he may enjoy a very successful first season for Genoa after his move from AEK: check out his superb finish in a match which he seemed to have assumed the role of right-back (confirmation from anyone out there?).

Similarly, Avraam Papadopoulos has been in good form for Olympiakos and his performance against Latvia in Riga was superb. A start may beckon for the 23 year-old…

The man who certainly deserves a start is Giorgios Samaras, who has been in lethal form for Celtic this season and whose last performance for the Ethniki was a mature one.

Whatever the choice, it goes without saying that a victory against Moldova and then against Switzerland four days later will take Rehhagel that one, elusive step closer to taking his side to a World Cup. It is a sight all Greek fans expect…