PREVIEW | Greece v Cote d’Ivoire
Kick-off: 6:00AM (AEDT) Wednesday 25 June, Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza. #GRECIV
Coming to you from my favourite named city of this tournament (makes me think of a house with strobing laser beams and a rocking soundtrack), Greece and Côte d’Ivoire are both playing for the runner-up spot from Group C. The spot is far from secured and nothing less than a win will give either of these sides the best chance to progress.
Greece come into this game after what has arguably been the most woeful game of the tournament, where both sides really deserved zero points instead of the reward of points for a draw. Côte d’Ivoire on the other hand come into this fixture with the sting of a loss in a hard fought match, and also the more consistent of the two teams.
It’s another first for Group C with Greece and Côte d’Ivoire facing up for the first time on the pitch. The timidity of Greece has not seen them rewarded in terms of goals and it will be a tough encounter for them to score their first goal of the tournament. Côte d’Ivoire should have no problems slotting the ball through the posts and into the back on the net in this game, if their previous outings are anything to go by. Defence for the Elephants and a strong midfield will be essential if they are to progress.
Greece will be missing Kostas Katsouranis for this game following from his red card send-off against Japan. The squad is otherwise fit, with Kostas Manolas and Kostas Mitroglou returning from their minor injuries. The Elephants however have a fully fit squad available for game day. Sadly, Ibrahim Toure, younger brother of Yaya and Kolo, died on Friday. Both players are expected to continue with this tournament despite their heavy hearts. They will surely be looking to put in their best performance to honour his memory in this game.
While no game at the World Cup is a gimme, I would expect nothing less than the Elephants to dominate this game. Their power and strength will likely be too much for Greece. The referee, Christian Lescano from Ecuador will need to have a close hand on his cards this game to ensure discipline remains on the pitch for these sides.
I’m predicting a win to the Elephants, 3-0.
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