Greece v Finland background
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Article summary
Greece and Finland drew 1-1 last time out, and find themselves battling to avoid finishing bottom of UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group F as they come together for a second time.
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Greece and Finland unexpectedly find themselves battling to avoid finishing bottom of UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group F as they come together for a second time.
Previous meetings
• Nikos Karelis's fine finish put Greece ahead when the sides met in Helsinki on 11 October 2014, but Jarkko Hurme volleyed the equaliser in a 1-1 draw.
• Greece's record in 13 meetings with Finland is W7 D3 L3 (W5 D0 L0 in Greece). These games include two friendlies played on neutral territory in Cyprus, both of which Greece won. Their record in nine UEFA European Championship meetings is W4 D3 L2 (W4 D0 L0 in Greece).
Disciplinary
• Greece defender Vasilis Torosidis is absent through suspension. Nikos Karelis, Panagiotis Kone, Giannis Maniatis, Kostas Manolas and Andreas Samaris are all a booking away from a one-game ban.
• Finland duo Perparim Hetemaj and Tim Sparv are a yellow card away from a suspension.
Form guide
• Greece have taken just two points from their six qualifying games to date – both of them with draws away from home. They have lost all three of their Group F home games without scoring. They had come into Group F unbeaten in 15 home qualifiers (W12 D3).
• Greece's only win in their last ten competitive games (W1 D4 L5) was 2-1 against Ivory Coast at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.
Trivia and links
• Finland's Hetemaj was the most fouled player in qualifying after six rounds of games, the referee coming to his aid 25 times – on six more occasions than any other player.
• This is Greece's first home game under Kostas Tsanas; this is also Finland's first match under their interim coach, Markku Kanerva, following the departure of Mixu Paatelainen.
• Greece midfielder Taxiarchis Fountas turns 20 on the day of the Finland game.
• Finland midfielder Robin Lod moved to Greece in the summer to play for Panathinaikos FC.
• The nations' nine encounters in UEFA's age-group tournaments have favoured Greece: W6 D0 L3.
• The nations' clubs have met just four times in UEFA competition, with the Greek sides unbeaten (W3 D1).
