Karagounis marks Greece century in perfect fashion

Giorgos Karagounis reflected on "a special day" after captaining Greece to their first victory in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group F on his 100th appearance for his country.

By taking to the field against Latvia in Athens, the Panathinaikos FC midfielder became the third player to reach a century of caps for Greece after Theodoros Zagorakis (120) and Angelos Basinas (100). "It's a very special day for me," said the 33-year-old, who made his debut in a friendly against El Salvador in August 1999. "I don't know how many matches I will get to play with the national team, but my aim is to help the squad qualify and play in the EURO finals for the third consecutive time."

The 1-0 win, secured by Vassilios Torossidis's second-half goal in the stadium where he plays his club football for Olympiacos FC, lifted Greece on to five points from three matches. The match-winner, however, will be suspended for the visit of Israel on Tuesday after collecting his second booking of the campaign.

"We played well and could have scored more goals but we weren't lucky," explained Torossidis. "However, what matters is that we got the three points. I'm very sad I will miss the crucial match against Israel because of suspension. When I was cautioned, I was absorbed in the match and didn't fully appreciate the meaning of the card. Now that I realise it, I feel bad."

While Karagounis made a landmark appearance, 19-year-old Ioannis Fetfatzidis started his senior international career as a late substitute. "Right from the moment that Mr Fernando Santos included me in the squad, I was confident I could play well and help the national team," said the Olympiacos attacking midfielder. "Greek football has several talented young players and hopefully they will be the base of the national squad in the near future."

As well as the suspended Torossidis, Santos could also be without midfielder Alexandros Tziolis and striker Nikos Liberopoulos. The former will undergo an examination to assess a shin injury he suffered during the game, while Liberopoulos has yet to recover from a knee problem.