ISR 0-1 GRE: Greece Triumph in Tel Aviv

September 2nd, 2011 | by: nick | Comments Off

Greece defeated Israel today in Tel Aviv to maintain their supremacy in Group F. In what turned out to be a very close encounter started out fairly even in the first half but Greece slowly emerged as the dominant side and took the lead. Sotiris Ninis emerged as the match winner with a brilliant run after picking the ball up and slotting it into the lower corner. Israel did have some brief attacks and chances but the ball was either promptly cleared out or overshot the penalty area.

Greece
Fernando Santos lined up his usual players in a 4-4-2 formation. The back line consisted of Giannis Zaradoukas, Avraam Papadopoulos, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, and Vassilios Torosidis. In front of them Karagounis and Katsouranis were flanked by Ninis and Kafes. Up front the attack was spearheaded by Samaras and Salpingidis. Overall the formation performed well and kept possession but Kafes’ wide position was unusual as he typically plays as a defensive midfielder or deep playmaker. The absence of Sokratis Papastathopoulos was clearly evident as the Greek back line had some nervous moments. The midfield also performed well in most respects but the first half witnessed some very sloppy passing which left Samaras and Salpingidis without support or service.

The second half was the witnessed Greece slowly gain the upper hand in the match. With Kafes coming off for Makos, the formation immediately fused into a 4-5-1 with Samaras playing as a center forward while Salpingidis moved out wide to the left. Katsouranis and Makos anchored the defensive midfield while Karagounis roamed in the center. Makos and Karagounis did well to snatch the ball which allowed Ninis to make his run into the Israeli box and score a low shot past Aouate. The fullbacks Zaradoukas and Torosidis did well to dominate the flanks but were on the back foot towards the end. Up front Samaras was a towering threat for the Israeli defense. His performance today is evidence to the fact that he plays well as a central forward rather than a winger.

Israel
Israel came into this game knowing a win was the minimum result they need to keep their campaign on track. There was a lot of pre-match hype but Israel’s performance was disappointing overall. In the first half they were able to keep their back line some what organized but Greece did find some openings. Benayoun’s presence was very minimal for Israel in an otherwise quiet first half for both sides. The second half witnessed Greece slowly press on and Israel were on the back foot. Ninis eventually found the opening and Israel where in complete shambles from that point on. However, Israel did press Greece in the last ten minutes with a few chances what was Israel’s only major attacking moments of the entire game.

Greece now march on to Riga where they meet Latvia while Israel go to Zagreb to play Croatia on Tuesday.