Euro 2012
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4 vs 2
Played
June 22, 2012 7:45 PM BST
PGE Arena Gdańsk — Gdańsk
Referee:‬ D. Skomina‎
Attendance:‬ 38751‎
 

Germany - Greece Preview: Joachim Low's side look to extend winning run against Greeks

The Mannschaft have never lost a European Championship quarter-final and will be confident of keeping that record intact against Fernando Santos' surprise packages

By Karthick Arvinth

More On :  Germany, Greece, Germany vs Greece
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GERMANY

Neuer
Boateng, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm
Khedira, Schweinsteiger
Muller, Ozil, Podolski
Gomez
GREECE

Sifakis
To'sidis, Pa'poulos, K Pa'poulos, Tzavelas
Katsouranis, Maniatis
Salpingidis, Fotakis, Samaras
Gekas

Germany have no fitness concerns ahead of their quarter-final clash with Greece in Gdansk on Friday.

Defender Jerome Boateng is available after serving a one-match ban and is set to take over from Lars Bender at right-back, in what is likely to be the only change to the side that beat Denmark 2-1 on Sunday.

Greece coach Fernando Santos will be without captain Giorgos Karagounis and Jose Holebas, who are both suspended, while goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias is unlikely to recover from his hamstring injury in time.

Parma-bound playmaker Sotiris Ninis could be drafted in to replace Karagounis, or, alternatively, Santos may opt for the more experienced Giorgos Fotakis.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • Germany have won their last 14 competitive international fixtures, a national record.
  • The Mannschaft have never lost to Greece. Their record in eight previous head-to-head meetings is W5, D3.
  • The Germans are competing in their fifth European championship quarter-final and have gone on to reach the final on each previous occasion.
  • Holger Badstuber (pictured right) is a yellow card away from suspension.
  • Greece have scored just once in each of their last eight games, winning just twice during that sequence.
  • The Hellenic outfit have scored in 21 of the 24 matches under Fernando Santos - the exceptions all ended as goalless draws.
  • Greece's only quarter-final appearance at a major tournament was the 1-0 triumph over France at Euro 2004, a competition they went on to win.
  • Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Dimitris Salpingidis and Vasilis Torosidis will incur a ban with their next bookings.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Germany 2-0 Greece
    23.01 %
  • Germany 3-0 Greece
    17.25 %
  • Germany 3-1 Greece
    9.2 %
Head to Head
Euro 2012 ‎(EC)‎ Jun 22, 2012 Germany 4 - Greece 2
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Last Five Matches
Germany
Mar 26, 2013Germany 4 - Kazakhstan 1WCQ
Mar 22, 2013Kazakhstan 0 - Germany 3WCQ
Feb 6, 2013France 1 - Germany 2FR
Nov 14, 2012Netherlands 0 - Germany 0FR
Oct 16, 2012Germany 4 - Sweden 4WCQ
Greece
Mar 22, 2013Bosnia 3 - Greece 1WCQ
Feb 6, 2013Greece 0 - Switzerland 0FR
Nov 14, 2012Ireland 0 - Greece 1FR
Oct 16, 2012Slovakia 0 - Greece 1WCQ
Oct 12, 2012Greece 0 - Bosnia 0WCQ
Odds
Returns: Germany £13.33 PaddyPower Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Returns: Draw £560.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Greece £560.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
1Manuel NeuerGoalkeeper
5Mats HummelsDefender
-Holger Badstuber
16Philipp LahmDefender
20Jerome BoatengDefender
6Sami KhediraMidfielder
7Bastian SchweinsteigerMidfielder
8Mesut ÖzilMidfielder
9Andre SchürrleMidfielder
-Miroslav Klose
21Marco ReusMidfielder
-Tim Wiese
22Ron-Robert ZielerGoalkeeper
3Marcel SchmelzerDefender
4Benedikt HöwedesDefender
17Per MertesackerDefender
2Ilkay GündoganMidfielder
15Lars BenderMidfielder
18Toni KroosMidfielder
19Mario GötzeMidfielder
10Lukas PodolskiStriker
13Thomas MüllerMidfielder
23Mario GomezStriker
13Michalis SifakisGoalkeeper
2Giannis ManiatisDefender
3Georgios TzavellasDefender
-Kyriakos Papadopoulos
15Vasilis TorosidisDefender
19Sokratis PapastathopoulosDefender
-Grigoris Makos
-Sotiris Ninis
21Kostas KatsouranisMidfielder
7Georgios SamarasStriker
14Dimitris SalpingidisStriker
-Kostas Chalkias
-Alexandros Tzorvas
4Stelios MalezasDefender
-Giorgos Fotakis
22Konstantinos FortounisMidfielder
-Giannis FetfatzidisMidfielder
-Nikolaos Liberopoulos
11Konstantinos MitroglouStriker
17Theofanis GekasStriker
Players to Watch
Mesut Özil
Mesut Özil
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 8
Games Goals YC RC
5 1 0 0
The Real Madrid star has had a relatively quiet tournament so far, but Joachim Low has backed the playmaker to "explode" in the knockout rounds just like he did in the World Cup two years ago. Indeed, a return to the pomp and swagger of his performances in South Africa may just be what is needed to get the zip back into Germany's build-up play in the final third, which has at times looked a tad bit ponderous.
Kyriakos Papadopoulos
Kyriakos Papadopoulos
Position:
Squad Number: 0
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0
With Greece unlikely to waver from attritional tactics, their defending will have to be up to the task to give them any chance of pulling off an upset against the slick passing game of the Germans. The 20-year-old Papadopoulos was reliable at the back in the group stages and his physical strength and ability to read the game will aid him well in his duel with the predatory Mario Gomez.
Prediction
This game could be closer than many expect, not least because Germany have not looked completely convincing despite their perfect record in the group stage and Greece are quite capable of frustrating good sides. But just as the Germans persevered to down Denmark on Sunday, their greater footballing ability should break through in the end.
Editor's Prediction
Germany 1
Greece 0
Results
Quarter-Finals
Times In BST
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Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Fernando Torres Fernando Torres
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Chelsea 		3 0
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo
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Mario Gomez Mario Gomez
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Mario Balotelli Mario Balotelli
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Mario Mandzukic Mario Mandzukic
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