After drawing the first match with Poland, Greece take on Czech Republic in their second match of the 14th Euro Cup Football tournament at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw, Poland on Tuesday (June 12). This group A match will start at 21.00 hours (PST). This will be the ninth international match between the two teams and third in the European Cup finals.
Czech Republic have won five, lost one and draw two in eight previous meetings. They scored 11 and conceded three goals in these matches.
Czechoslovakia defeated Greece 3-1 when two teams met first time in European Cup finals at Rome on June 14,1980 while Greece recorded a 1-0 extra time victory over Czech Republic at Porto on July 1,2004 in the last meeting.
If past experience is anything to go by, this match is unlikely to produce a hatful of goals. In three previous encounters between Greece and the Czech Republic, only one goal has been scored. That was at the 2004 finals when Greek defender Traianos Dellas scored in extra time, a silver goal which ended the match, to give his team a 1-0 victory in Porto and a place in the final. Though Greece have never conceded a goal against the Czechs, they had an appalling record against their predecessors Czechoslovakia who beat them in all five matches they played.
Greece’s 1-1 draw with hosts Poland in the opening match of the tournament was their first point at a Euro finals since their surprise win in 2004. In 2008, they lost all three group games. In 2004 Greece played and surprisingly beat then hosts Portugal in the opening match of the tournament and repeated the feat in a final no one had expected. The odds on them playing Poland again in the Euro 2012 final look extremely slim.
The Czech Republic’s 4-1 thrashing by Russia in their opening game was their heaviest ever defeat. They have only lost by a three-goal margin twice before – 3-0 to Switzerland in 1994, the second game they ever played after the break-up of Czechoslovakia, and 3-0 to Norway in a friendly last year. The Czechs have now lost their last three games at European Championship finals. In 2008, they won their opening group game against hosts Switzerland but then lost 3-1 to Portugal and 3-2 to Turkey to exit before the knockout stage. The second match of the day will be played between Poland and Russia at the National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland. This group A match will start at 23.45 hours (PST). This will be the 15th international match between the two teams and first in European Cup finals.
Russia have won seven, lost three and draw four in 14 previous matches played against Poland. They scored 28 and conceded 13 goals in these matches
Co-hosts Poland can take hope from the fact that they won their only previous home game against Russia 3-1 in a friendly in Chorzow in 1998. They were also unbeaten at home in full internationals against the Soviet team before the break up of the Soviet Union. Poland’s squandering of chances in the first half of their 1-1 draw with Greece in the opening match of the tournament means they are still awaiting their first victory at a Euro finals. In their only previous appearance four years ago, they drew one and lost two of their group games.
The goal conceded by Poland when Greek substitute Dimitris Salpingidis netted a second-half equaliser in the opening match was the first the Poles have conceded in their last five matches. Russia’s impressive 4-1 demolition of the Czech Republic in their first match increased theirunbeaten run to 15 matches in which they have conceded just five goals.
Russia’s victory over the Czechs was an exact reversal of the score in their first game at Euro 2008 when they lost 4-1 to eventual champions Spain. They then recovered to win three games in a row before losing by three goals again to Spain, this time 3-0, in the semi-finals.
