Switzerland purges Greek perfection

Greece’s perfect opening to the World Cup Qualifiers came to an end on Wednesday, as Greece fell 2-1 to Switzerland at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. After earning three wins from three in their previous outings, Greece had planned to continue their winning ways; however, Ottmar Hizfeld’s men restored hopes of World Cup Qualifcation, and erased the embarrassment from the loss against Luxembourg with a surprise win away to the EURO 2004 winners.

Even though recent form favoured the Greeks, the match was always billed to be a tight encounter. The Greeks looked clinical in their demolition of Moldova on the weekend, while the Swiss were on the road to redemption with a 2-1 over Latvia. The Georgios Karaiskakis, a fortress for its tenants – Olympiacos and the Greek National Team – was the venue and ideally the Greeks were expected to emerge victors. Surprisingly, it was the Swiss who challenged the Greeks as Otto Rehhagel’s side struggled to cope with the pressure enforced by the visitors.

If the struggle to fight of the Swiss wasn’t a proper indication of Greek troubles, the injury of Sotirios Kyrgiakos just ahead of the half hour mark certainly was. The AEK captain was not able to continue any longer, and he was duly replaced by his domestic rival Christos Patsatzoglou.

Both sides seemed destined to end the opening frame scoreless, but a defensive error by Avraam Papadopoulos cost the Greeks a goal ahead of the halftime whistle. Lazio’s Valon Behrami was brought down by the Olympiacos center back, and the play resulted in a penalty for Switzerland. Veteran striker Alexander Frei made no mistake as he slotted the ball passed a fooled Kostas Chalkias to give the Swiss a 1-0 lead.

The second half began with a shuffling of the Greek line-up, as Theofanis Gekas made way for fellow German Bundesliga striker Nikos Liberopoulos . With Greece desperate to equalize, the game began to open up – allowing several odd-man rushes. Greece had their fair share of rushes, but poor communication compounded further Greek misery. Halftime substitute Liberopoulos picked up Greece’s best opportunity, but the man reputable for his clutch scoring wasn’t able to beat keeper Diego Benaglio.

It was another introduction, however, that sparked life into the Greeks and their supporting crowd. Georgios Samaras was yanked for Georgios Karagounis in an attempt to steal a point from the sold Swiss. The introduction of Karagounis paid dividends shortly after, as the Panathinaikos midfielder found legendary scorer Angelos Charisteas unmarked in the box. After controlling the rightward cross, Charisteas fired to level Greece back on level terms.

Sadly all progress was lost less than ten minutes later. The Swiss counterattacked yet again, and Blaise Nkufo rounded a lost Chalkias to restore the Swiss advantage. Nkufo’s strike marked the last entry on the score sheet, as Switzerland triumphed in Piraeus.

For Greece the loss serves as a wakeup call – similar to recent losses in qualification stages. After wining with ease against lower opposition, the loss tightens forced Greece into a tricky task.

Switzerland has been rejuvenated as they edge closer to the summit of Group 2. Still trailing the likes of Greece and Israel, the Swiss still have work to do if they are to overcome their superiors; however, the win against Greece acts as a confident boost ahead of the remaining fixtures.

The other Group 2 results saw Latvia hold Israel 1-1 with a late strike from Vladimirs Kolesnicenko cancelling out Yossi Benayoun’s earlier tally. Group 2 minnows Moldova and Luxembourg ended scoreless at the Josy-Barthel Stadium.

Despite the loss, Greece still holds onto first place with nine points; but their grip is limited to just one point with Israel posed to overtake the Greeks in March. Switzerland sits one further point back, after improving their record to 2-1-1. Despite holding the Israelis, Latvia slips one spot to fourth; while the likes of Luxembourg and Moldova rounding out the Group 2 standings.

When play resumes in March, Greece will travel to Ramat Gan to visit Israel. Switzerland will encounter Moldova, while Luxembourg welcomes Latvia.

Greece 1-2 Switzerland
Charisteas 68’ – Frei 41’, Nkufo 77’

Yellow Cards:
Greece – Papadopoulos 43’, Katsouranis 80’
Switzerland – Fernandes 82’, Lichsteiner 84’

Greece (Otto Rehhagel): Chalkias, Seitaridis, Dellas, Papadopoulos, Kyrgiakos (28’ Patsatzoglou), Torosidis, Basinas, Samaras (63’ Karagounis), Katsouranis, Charisteas, Gekas (46’ Liberopoulos).

Switzerland (Ottmar Hitzfeld): Benaglio, Lichsteiner,Grichting, Eggimann, Spycher, Huggel, Barnetta (34’ Fernandes), Inler, Behrami, Nkufo (88’ Derdiyok), Frei (76’ Yakin).

Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)

Venue: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens, Greece