Europe

World Cup Qualifying Preview: Moldova - Greece

The race for first place is going to go down to the wire and Greece simply must get the three points against Moldova to have a chance.

Sep 8, 2009 10:17:28 PM

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Ioannis Amanatidis, Greece (firo)

Kick Off: Wednesday, 9 September, 20:30 CET
Zimbru Stadium, Chisinau

Disappointment

Though still young and a minnow as far as national teams go, there will be no hiding the disappointment for Moldovans at what has been a particularly poor qualifying campaign.

After gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the national team became a member of FIFA in 1994 and then attempted to qualify for its first World Cup on the road to France ’98.

Though they lost all of their games during that initial campaign, slowly but steadily results have been improving, which makes their winless streak in what is a relatively weak group – given the presence of resident easy-beats Luxembourg and the absence of any European powerhouses – particularly disappointing.

Two draws against Luxembourg have cost the Moldovans what would have otherwise been 6 points and has left them at the bottom of the group, though their campaign started with two encouraging performances at home against Isreal and then Lavia – both of which they narrowly lost 2-1.

They most travel to both of those countries before the end of the campaign, after hosting Greece on Wednesday of course, which seems to make the possibility of avoiding the wooden spoon in their group quite remote.

Deja Vu

Greek fans around the world will be haunted by a sense of deja vu as their side stumble at the crucial stages of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

The then-European champions failed to qualify for Germany 2006 after some key losses at both at home and abroad and after back-to-back defeats to main group rivals Switzerland one wonders whether the campaign is only beginning to derail for Otto Rehhagel’s men.

It was a rather farcical red card that brought about their demise in Switzerland on the weekend – a result that could yet prove crucial in what is a very tight race for an automatic qualifying spot – reminiscent of the sort of bad luck that dogged their failed campaign for Germany.

The good news, though, is that the Greeks are not faced with anywhere near the quality of opposition that they were on that occasion – namely Turkey, Denmark and the Ukraine – but instead must overcome the likes of Moldova and then Latvia and Luxembourg at home to assure themselves of at least a play-off chance at being at South Africa.

They will be hoping, meanwhile, that Latvia do them a favour against the Swiss on Wednesday. A victory over Moldova and a Swiss defeat would see the Greeks swiftly return to the summit of their group and place them again in pole position with two winnable games remaining.

It’s going to be a tight finish.

FORM GUIDE

Moldova

Jun. 10 Belarus 2-2 Moldova (Friendly)
Jun. 6 Georgia 1-2 Moldova (Friendly)
Apr. 1 Switzerland 2-0 Moldova (WCQ)
Mar. 28 Moldova 0-2 Switzerland (WCQ)
Sep 5. Moldova 0-0 Luxembourg (WCQ)

Greece

Mar 28. Israel 1-1 Greece (WCQ)
Feb 11. Greece 1-1 Denmark (Friendly)
Nov 19. Greece 1-1 Italy (Friendly)
Aug 12. Poland 2-0 Greece (Friendly)
Sep 5. Switzerland 2-0 Greece (WCQ)

TEAM NEWS

Moldova

Probable XI (4-4-2): Namasco – Lascenov, Savinov, Epureanu, Golovatenco – Armas, Gatcan, Ionita, Calincov – Bugaev, Alexeev

Greece

Captain Giorgios Karagounis is likely to return from injury while Loukas Vyntra is suspended following his red card against the Swiss.

Probable XI (3-4-3): Chalkias –Moras, Kyrgiakos, Papastathopoulos, – Spyropoulos, Katsouranis, Tziolis, Patsatzoglou – Samaras, Charisteas, Amanatidis

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Alexandru Epureanu (Moldova)

Alexandru Epureanu is only 22 but is already one of the most-capped players in the current Moldovan team. The FC Moscow stopper burst onto the scene as an impressionable 17-year old and has been a fixture in the national team since 2006, and is likely to be a key performer in this encounter.

Giorgios Karagounis (Greece)

His absence was conspicuous at the weekend where Greece lacked his creativity and drive. His ability to from set-pieces and to shot from long range might also be crucial as Greece look to break down what should be a deep-lying Moldovan defense.

PREDICTION

Greece will need to bounce back from two disastrous losses from Switzerland and know that there will be criticism awaiting back home if they deliver anything other than a victory. Bear in mind too that goal difference might be a factor in determining who finishes at the top of this group, so they’ll need to score goals – which they should do.

Moldova 0-3 Greece

Chris Paraskevas, Goal.com

The 2010 World Cup is fast approaching, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage

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World Cup Qualifying Preview: Moldova - Greece

The race for first place is going to go down to the wire and Greece simply must get the three points against Moldova to have a chance.

Sep 8, 2009 10:17:28 PM

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