Head coach Gustavo Poyet is hoping for a sold-out crowd on Monday when Greece plays the important Euro qualifying match against Oranje. Various internationals have also called on the Greek population to make the Agia Sofia Stadium roar.
Greece secured an important victory away against Ireland (0-2) on Friday night, after losing to France in June (1-0) and to the Netherlands in September (3-0). In the home match against Oranje, the 2004 European champions can take another step towards their first Euro participation since 2012. Left-back Georgios Tzavellas expressed his pride in his fellow internationals on Instagram. 'May Agia Sofia roar on Monday!'
Poyet also hopes for a full house in Nea Filadelfia. The Uruguayan saw his team deliver a complete match in Ireland. 'Compliments to my players. We pushed forward when we needed to and defended appropriately. We saw a real and complete team tonight and have laid a foundation for the match against the Netherlands. I hope we play in a full stadium on Monday,' said Poyet at the press conference.
The victory in Dublin provides enough points of contact for Poyet. 'As a team, we are growing. The players have understood that they need to go the extra mile to get to the Euros. Monday's match will be very important. We will have to do a lot of things right to win. We have put ourselves in this position. If you had told me after the draw that we would be in this situation now, I would not have believed it.'
Giakoumakis
Georgios Giakoumakis was responsible for the 0-1 against Ireland. The former striker of VVV-Venlo, now active for Atlanta United, is not counting his chickens before they hatch. 'We must not get ahead of ourselves because if we do not win on Monday, this victory has no value. We are gradually reaching the level where we want to be and have pinned our hopes on the last matches against the two top teams. We will need the support of the fans.'
