Greece issue Portugal warning

With barely four days to go before their UEFA EURO 2004™ Group A opener against Portugal, Greece have warned the hosts not to take them lightly. The Greeks held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in November, and despite being underdogs, midfield player Stylianos Giannakopoulos is confident his team can beat Saturday’s opponents.

'Nothing to lose'
"Not reckoning with us will be a big mistake," he said. "We will play to win all our matches. If we play as a team, we have a good chance of winning. We have nothing to lose. Portugal will be under pressure playing at home."

European experience
Giannakopoulos added: "Our players have become more experienced since they started playing abroad and participating in European competitions, like the UEFA Champions League."

Form dip
Greece have suffered a recent dip in form including a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Netherlands and a lacklustre 2-0 win over lowly Liechtenstein, but skipper Theodoros Zagorakis echoed his team-mate's sentiments, saying: "We played Portugal recently and we have a good idea about their condition. We will be perfectly ready."

Nikolaidis boost
The Greeks received a boost on Monday after leading striker Themistoklis Nikolaidis returned to full training. It was the best sign yet that he will recover from a calf problem in time for the match against Portugal although the team doctors will delay their verdict until Thursday.

Formation change
Coach Otto Rehhagel is tipped to return to a 4-5-1 formation against Portugal, but the fitness of Nikolaidis will be a deciding factor as Rehhagel has shown a preference for the Club Atlético de Madrid player in the lone striker position.

Minor concerns
Greece still have minor concerns over defensive midfield player Kostantinos Katsouranis, who has flu, and central defender Traianos Dellas and midfield player Giorgos Karagounis, who are nursing hip and foot injuries.

Flying start
But injury problems or not, with pride at stake and a €2m pledge from the Hellenic Football Federation if they qualify for the quarter-finals, the Greeks are confident that they can get off to a flying start and win their first ever match at a major tournament on Saturday.