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QF 2 - Germany vs Greece


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Greece captain Giorgios Karagounis and squad player Jose Holebas both serve one-game bans after picking up two tournament bookings.

Karagounis could be replaced by AEK Athens midfielder Grigoris Makos or PAOK's Giorgos Fotakis.

Germany right-back Jerome Boateng is available after missing the win against Denmark through suspension.

His replacement, midfielder Lars Bender, will hope to keep his place after scoring against the Danes.

MATCH PREVIEW

"Be happy dear Greeks, the defeat on Friday is a gift. Against Jogi Loew, no rescue fund will help you." Headline from German newspaper Bild.

Sport and politics are often uneasy bedfellows, but it's impossible to ignore talk of bailouts and Eurozone exits in the build-up to Friday's quarter-final, which will be attended by Angela Merkel. The German Chancellor is deeply unpopular in debt-ridden Greece because of the tough austerity measures she has demanded in return for financial aid.

Frau Merkel is considered a lucky charm by the German team - she saw their 4-0 demolition of Argentina at the 2010 World Cup but could not attend the semi-final exit to Spain. The omens suggest Merkel is unlikely to be disappointed; Germany have never lost a European Championship quarter-final, and are on a high after winning all three group games for the first time at the tournament.

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Shock winners in 2004, Greece caused the biggest surprise of Euro 2012 by eliminating Russia. Now under the stewardship of Portuguese coach Fernando Santos, the team retains the battling qualities instilled by his German predecessor Otto Rehhagel.

The Teutonic connection also extends to the squad, eight of whom have played in Germany, including central defenders Kyriakos Papadopoulos, of Schalke, and Sokratis Papastathopoulos (who spent the season on loan at Werder Bremen). Left-back Jose Holebas was born in Germany, while striker Kostas Mitroglou was raised there.

The Greeks will sit deep and hope to stifle the Germans, an approach which nearly worked for Portugal when they took on Joachim Loew's side. Greece rarely score more than once, so the first goal will be especially crucial. The Germans have not trailed in a competitive game for two years, and would not relish coming from behind against a dogged and stubborn Greek side.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

  • Germany (including West Germany) are unbeaten in eight previous games against Greece, winning five. The only previous meeting at a European Championship was a group match that finished 0-0 in 1980. That result took the Germans through to the final, where they beat Belgium.

  • The most recent games came in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup. Germany won 2-0 in Hamburg in Sep 2000 and 4-2 in Athens in March 2001; Miroslav Klose is the only survivor from the last meeting - he scored in that match.

Germany

  • The Germans have taken the lead in all three matches at Euro 2012, plus each of their 10 qualifiers, going on to win all of those games. They have not fallen behind in a competitive game since the third-place play-off against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup (when they won 3-2 after trailing 2-1).

  • Joachim Loew's side have won their last 14 competitive games (includes third-place play-off against Uruguay).

  • The average age of the starting XI against Denmark was 25 years and 107 days - Germany's youngest ever line-up at a European Championship.

  • Germany (including West Germany) have never lost a European Championship quarter-final. They beat Portugal 3-2 at Euro 2008 and Croatia 2-1 at Euro 96. They also defeated England (1972) and Spain (1976) back in the days when quarter-finals were played over two legs prior to the finals.

Greece

  • The Greeks have scored just one goal in each of their past eight matches.

  • In their three previous European Championships tournaments to date, Greece have either finished bottom of their group or won the competition outright (as they did in 2004). Therefore they have won all three of their previous knock-out games at the tournament.

  • Greece have never contested a penalty shoot-out at a tournament. They have missed their last three penalties - Giorgios Karagounis failed to convert a spot-kick against Poland in their opening game, and Giorgos Samaras and Kostas Katsouranis did likewise against Armenia on 31 May.

  • Against Russia, Greece equalled the tournament record for most shots blocked (12), matching England's tally against Portugal in 2004 and against France in 2012.


Germany

  • 01 Neuer
  • 05 Hummels
  • 14 Badstuber
  • 16 Lahm
  • 20 Boateng
  • 06 Khedira
  • 07 Schweinsteiger
  • 08 Ozil
  • 09 Schurrle
  • 21 Reus
  • 11 Klose

Greece

  • 13 Sifakis
  • 02 Maniatis
  • 03 Tzavelas
  • 05 K Papadopoulos
  • 15 Torosidis
  • 19 Papastathopoulos
  • 06 Makos
  • 18 Ninis
  • 21 Katsouranis
  • 07 Samaras
  • 14 Salpingidis

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