International Friendly Preview: Greece - North Korea

Posted Tuesday, May 25, 2010 by Goal.com

Two World Cup hopefuls continue their preparations for South Africa with an international friendly in Altach...

Kick-off: Tuesday, May 25, 20:00 CET
Cashpoint Arena, Altach, Austria

Finding Form

Greece begin their two-match preparation for this summer’s World Cup against North Korea, needing a win to boost confidence in the camp ahead of the tournament in South Africa early next month.

The match comes just days after several domestic players finally joined up with the national team as a protracted domestic campaign forced national team staff to delay the start of the side’s training camp in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland.

With just a few weeks left before the start of the final tournament, Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has very little time left to find the right blend of players as the Piratiko brace for just their second World Cup voyage in history.

A miserable 2-0 loss to Senegal in their last outing has raised doubt over Greece’s campaign this summer as the Greek media continues to bash Rehhagel for his decision not to inject more youth in the squad.

With a very familiar line-up expected, supporters of the national team fear this summer’s tournament will compare to Greece’s disastrous campaign at the 2008 European Championships; a run that saw Greece drop all three group matches -- finishing bottom and not putting up much of a fight to defend their title from 2004.

Lesser Expectations

North Korea’s build-up to this summer’s final tournament doesn’t appear to bare as high expectations, but the Koreans know the odds are stacked against them as they look forward to meeting Brazil, Portugal, and the Ivory Coast in June.

Having already played several friendlies in the past few months, the North Korean squad appears to have come together, despite their recent outing ending in a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay.

Knowing their campaign in South Africa kicks-off with an enormous task against Brazil, Jong-Hun Kim will be hoping his side can build team-unity against a traditionally defensive Greek side.

The Greeks who, arguably, orchestrated the biggest upset in international football with their triumph in Portugal six years ago, but North Korea will be hoping to at the very least emulate some of Greece’s defensive tactics from half-a-dozen summers ago.

Still, against a regularly laid-back opponent on Tuesday night, a meeting with Greece could pose as an opportunity for North Korea to work on their offensive tactics. Regardless of what approach Kim’s side takes, North Korean supporters will be keen on a win as confidence runs at a premium ahead of kick-off in South Africa.

FORM GUIDE

Greece

03 Mar: Greece 0-2 Senegal (Friendly)

18 Nov: Ukraine 0-1 Greece (World Cup Play-off)

14 Nov: Greece 0-0 Ukraine (World Cup Play-off)

14 Oct: Greece 2-1 Luxembourg (World Cup qualifier)

10 Oct: Greece 5-2 Latvia (World Cup qualifier)

North Korea

15 May: Paraguay 1-0 North Korea (Friendly)

22 Apr: South Africa 0-0 North Korea (Friendly)

17 Mar: Mexico 2-1 North Korea (Friendly)

06 May: Venezuela 2-1 North Korea (Friendly)

04 Mar: Venezuela 1-1 North Korea (Friendly)

TEAM NEWS

Greece

Greece are sweating over the fitness of several key players, including Olympiacos defender Vasilis Torosidis. Seen as a key part to Greece’s overall success, Torosidis continues to undergo treatment for an injury he picked up during Olympiacos’ run in the Greek Super League play-offs. Christos Patsatzoglou is also nursing an injury, while Angelos Charisteas is doubtful.

Probable Starting XI: Tzorvas - Spiropoulos, Kyrgiakos, Papastathopoulos, Seitaridis, Katsouranis, Salpingidis, Karagounis - Salpingidis, Samaras, Gekas.

North Korea

Kim has a relatively full-strength squad to choose from.

Probable Starting XI: Myong-Guk, Jong-Hyok, Jun-Il Ri, Kwang-Chon, Chol-Jin, In-Guk, Yong-Jun, Nam-Chol, Yun-Nam, Kum-Chol, Yong-Jo.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Theofanis Gekas (Greece)

Having just signed a contract that will take him to Eintracht Frankfurt next season, Theofanis Gekas will be hoping to impress his new employers and Greece bench-boss Rehhagel as the former Bundesliga scoring champion looks to hit peak form just in time. Leading the European zone qualifiers in scoring, Gekas will need to reactivate his killer-instinct if Greece are to grab a win and a much needed confidence boost.

Jong Tae-Se (North Korea)

Nicknamed the ‘Rooney of Asia’, Jong Tae-Se has already voiced his intention of guiding North Korea to their own brand of World Cup glory this summer. The Kawasaki Frontale striker will need to live up to his self-instigated hype if North Korea are to trouble a very tactical Greek side. Look for Tae-Se’s physical play to cause at least a few headaches for the Greek defence.

PREDICTION

Greece might be struggling to find their form at the moment, but their strength and physicality should prove to be just too much for an overall much smaller North Korea. Look for Greece to exploit the mismatch in height, but not to an extent where well-disciplined North Korea side are humiliated.

Greece 1-0 North Korea