Despite posting a positive record in this UEFA European Championship qualification (ECQ) cycle (W4, L3), Greece are no longer able to qualify directly for Germany 2024, as France and the Netherlands have secured the top two spots in Group B. However, Gus Poyet’s men will get another opportunity to qualify, having secured a spot in the play-offs based on their performance in the recent UEFA Nations League.
Greece therefore enter this match at the OPAP Arena in Athens without any pressure, in a meeting that will serve as preparation for those crucial March fixtures. They warmed up for this final ECQ encounter with a 2-0 friendly victory against New Zealand last Friday, marking their sixth consecutive game in which only one side has scored, a run that started with a 1-0 loss in the reverse H2H in June.
Saturday evening at the Allianz Riviera in Nice was historic, as by incredibly defeating Gibraltar 14-0, France achieved the biggest win in the 65-year history of ECQ. This margin of victory also stands as the largest in the history of the national team, surpassing a 10-0 triumph against Azerbaijan in the Euro 1996 qualifiers, a match in which Les Bleus’ current manager Didier Deschamps participated as a player.
The two-time European champions continued their perfect qualification campaign with that record-breaking trouncing (W7), ensuring they’ll be one of the six seeded nations for Euro 2024 in June in the process. Despite this achievement, there is no indication of complacency from France, as they know victory here will guarantee top spot in the FIFA rankings by the end of this calendar year, with Deschamps stressing that their trip to Greece “won’t be a mere joyride”.
Players to watch: Greece will hope Giorgos Giakoumakis can find the net, after leading his nation to a 2-0 victory in his three most recent goalscoring international appearances. With the new youngest scorer in France history, Warren Zaïre-Emery, sidelined due to injury, attention now turns to the oldest, as Olivier Giroud made history by becoming the first player at the age of 37 to net for his country with his brace against Gibraltar.
Hot stat: France have scored first within 15 minutes in four of their previous six away ECQ games.
