Bad news! An uninspiring performance by Greece in a friendly at home with a Senegalese team that theoretically has a playing style similar to that of Nigeria (though according to the Senegalese coach ‘they are quicker than the Nigerians.’) Granted, it was a friendly with a lot of absences (e.g. see U21 game) and substitutions for Greece that affected the cohesion of the team but still losing 2-0 at home to a team that it is not even close to the same level as Greece could at least affect morale.
The rest of Group B had much better days:
- Argentina won away 1-0 against Germany.
- Nigeria won at home 5-2 against Congo.
- Korea won away 2-0 against Didier Drogba’s Cote d’Ivoire.
After the game Coach Otto Rehhagel said that ‘we have a lot of work ahead of us.’ That could be an understatement given the good form of the other 3 teams in Group B. Obviously it is not the end of the world. Hopefully, It will serve as a reminder that we only have about 3 months before we play for real.
Reports:
GOAL.com: Greece 0-2 Senegal: Mamadou Niang Gives Coach Amara Traore First Win
UEFA.com: Senegal give Greece food for thought
On a much more positive note, the Greek U21 squad defeated England U21 on an away game! Now we only need 1 point in the final group stage away game against FYROM to win first place in Group 9 (Greece, England, Portugal, Lithuania, FYROM.)
| Rank | Teams | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Greece | 6 | 13 |
| 2 |  England | 5 | 11 |
| 3 |  Portugal | 5 | 7 |
| 4 |  Lithuania | 6 | 5 |
| 5 |  FYR Macedonia | 6 | 2 |
Reports:
GOAL.com: England U-21 1-2 Greece U-21: Stuart Pearce’s Side Sink At The Keepmoat Stadium
Guardian.co.uk: Gifted Greeks too good for Stuart Pearce's under-par England
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