London Greek Radio

Greece will have to get past Croatia if they are to earn a spot at next summer’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Greece drew Croatia out of the pot on Tuesday 17th October at the 2018 World Cup playoff draw at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

Ethniki could become the first UEFA member nation to reach three World Cups in a row via the playoffs.

Greece will travel to Croatia on November 9th for the first leg at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb with kick off scheduled for 9:45 PM local Greek time.

The return leg will take place three days later in Athens at the Karaiskakis Stadium on Sunday, November 12th, with kick off scheduled for the same time 9:45 PM local Greek time.

Tonight in a 7:45 pm kick-off in Nicosia we will see Cyprus take on Greece in a match in Group H qualification. As things stand now, the Cypriot squad still mathematically possible for them to finish as runners-up. Despite a brilliant 3-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in August, the Cypriots could not repeat the result in Estonia. A 1-0 defeat away put a serious dent into Cypriot hopes of their first World Cup appearance.

The Top 8 out of 9 runner-up teams make the playoffs and for one team their qualifying hopes will simply end next week.

Greece currently in third position a single point behind Bosnia and Herzegovina will need to beat Cyprus and see-off Gibraltar in the final match on Tuesday night. The Greeks knowing that only a Belgium victory against Bosnia on top of it, second place is theirs to lose, but they will still face a nervous wait to find out who will miss the cut for the playoffs.

Cyprus coach Ben Shimon has had to deal with a few injury concerns in the lead-up to this match. One big absence is that of Omonoia attacker Demetris Christofi. A recent injury in a league match means that the 29-year-old will misses out on this qualifier. APOEL’s George Efraim is unavailable while Konstantinos Mintikkis was left out of the squad, due to injury as well. Mintikkis was replaced by Marios Stylianou, a likely back-up to first-choice right-back Jason Demetriou.

Greek manager Michael Skibbe will be ecstatic to have seen Kostas Mitroglou training with the rest of the squad this week. The Marseille striker suffered a preseason knock that saw him miss Greece’s previous two qualifiers. However, there was bad news on Thursday as it was confirmed that Tasos Donis will miss Greece’s remaining two qualifiers due to injury. That will be a big blow to Greece as Donis has been amongst the team’s top performers in recent matches.

Dimitris Diamantakos was injured after the squad announcement and his place was taken by Nottingham Forest striker Apostolos Vellios.

POTENTIAL LINE-UPS

Cyprus: Panagi, Demetriou, Laifis, Katelaris, Margaca, Laban, Artymatas, Charalambides, Kyriakou, Alexandrou, Sotiriou

Greece: Karnezis, Tzavellas, Papastathopoulos, Manolas, Torosidis, Maniatis, Zeca, Fortounis, Christodoulopoulos, Mantalos, Mitroglou

UEFA World Cup Qualifying
GROUP H

RESULTS: Sunday 3 September 2017

Estonia 1-0 CYPRUS                                             Käit 90+2′ #EST

GREECE 1-2 Belgium                                            Zeca ’73 #GRE, Vertonghen ’70, R. Lukaku ’74 #BEL

Gibraltar 0-4 Bosnia and Herzegovina         Džeko 35′, 85′, Kodro 66′, Lulić 84′ #BIH

Upcoming fixtures

7 October 2017

CYPRUS v CYPRUS
Gibraltar v Estonia
Bosnia Herzegovina v Belgium

10 October 2017
GREECE v Gibraltar
Estonia v Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgium v Cyprus

GREECE edged out Great Britain in tight EuroBasket warm-up…

Our own UK Greeks/Cypriots fan-base whipping up an electrifying atmosphere…

In front of nearly 5,000 fans representing both teams, Greece pulled out a nail biter of a win with Britain showing a worldwide audience just what they can do, in an 84-88 defeat.

GB trailed 84-83 with 24 seconds remaining and stole the ball, but missed a shot and a free throw, with Greece’s four free throws sealing the game.

Dan Clark had 23 points to lead GB’s scoring, with Gabe Olaseni and Luke Nelson adding 20 and 13 points respectively.

The defeat is GB’s fifth in their warm-up games for next month’s EuroBasket finals.

On a four-game losing streak after a 72-68 behind-closed-doors loss on Friday to their visitors, GB looked eager to make a mark early but had to come from behind to share the first quarter 22-22.

Greece were missing four regulars, including NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo and two other starters, but their wealth of talent – almost the entire squad plays in the continent’s top league, the Euroleague – meant they were still tough opponents for head coach Joe Prunty’s team.

That showed in the second quarter as centre George Papagiannis, fed by classy point guard Kostas Sloukas, ignited a 10-0 run for a 32-25 lead before Gabe Olaseni and newcomer Luke Nelson brought GB back to lead briefly, 40-39 on Nelson’s assured three-pointer.

Down by two points at the break, GB slipped further behind before a storming 14-1 run, inspired by veteran Kieron Achara, brought GB a 65-59 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The return of Sloukas and increased defensive intensity gave the visitors an 11-0 start to the final quarter.

GB set up the chance of an unlikely win with a run of five unanswered point in the last two minutes, but Nelson’s drive and shot missed, and when Andrew Lawrence missed a free throw with six seconds remaining, Greece escaped to another win over their hosts.

AEL of Limassol achieved a great victory on Saturday over Omonia of Nicosia and the League`s leader AEK beat Ermis and remained at the top of the standings. In the framework of match day 12, APOEL faces on Monday at 19:00 Apollon of Limassol in GSP Stadium.

The results of match day 12 are as follow: AEZ-Anagennisi 1-1, Aris-Doxa 4-0, Anorthosis-Karmiotissa 1-0, Nea Salamina-Ethnikos Achnas 1-0, AEL-Omonia 1-0, AEK-Ermis 1-0.

Standings: AEK 31, AEL 27, APOEL 26, Omonia 24, Apollon 22, Ermis 19, Nea Salamina 16, Karmiotissa 14, Anorthosis 14, Ethnikos Achnas 8, Aris 10, AEZ 8, Doxa 6, Anagennisi 2.

The Cyprus national football squad have joined the Movember movement whose aim is to raise awareness about prostate cancer. The Cypriot players are responding to a call by the Cyprus Football Association and are delighted to give their wholesome support to an incredibly vital cause. By this very generous initiative, they are helping to enlighten others about the disease which affects a large percentage of the male population.

Movember — a portmanteau of moustache and November; also known as No-Shave November —  is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches and beards during the month of November to raise awareness of various cancers, such as prostate.

The Cypriot players sported a fake moustache…

The Cyprus team took part during the training session ahead of the Gibraltar game, their last 2018 World Cup qualifying match this year.

The players sported a fake moustache, conscious how important it was to show their supporting in this island-wide concept, being backed by the official sponsors KEO.

To top it all, Cyprus beating Gibraltar 3-1 only a few days later, a win to earn them their first three points in Group H qualifying.

The Cypriot players Konstantinos Laidis, Pieros Sotiriou and Valentinos Sielis all scored a goal; well done to the boys for the football and setting above all, a very fine example. To helping absolutely the very worthy cause behind Movember campaign throughout the month of November.

We watched the game, Greece vs. Cyprus from the arm-chair, or more like a seat that swivels from the LGR offices.

It was the first time these neighbouring teams met, making history in an awesome competitive game. The stakes were very high as either a win or a draw, would be help to the sides chances to qualify for the World Cup finals 2018 in Russia.

Friday night October 7th at 19:45 at the Football Stadium Georgios Karaiskakis, we finally had kick-off…

The match was full of excitement, as the visiting team, Cyprus, were quick to go on counter-attack and creative, troubling Greece’s defence to the approving roar of the visiting 1,500 Cypriot fans making the trip to Piraeus. Greece’s make-shift midfield brought in Kostas Stafylidis replacing Andreas Samaris who was injured next to Giannis Maniatis as holding midfielders, and they were tested by the ambitious Cypriot team who pressed forward in the early moments of the game.

Mitroglou fires home the first goal at 12′ minutes

Despite our plucky Cypriot showing, it was the in-form Kostas Mitroglou opening the score in the 12 minute, with a fine shot. Kostas Fortounis took hold of a loose ball in the Cyprus box and fed incoming Mitroglou who slid the ball past Cypriot keeper Kostas Panagi and his strike making it two goals out of two qualifiers for him.

Taking full advantage of a Cypriot goalkeeping error by Panagi, Greek player Petros Mantalos made it two at 42 minutes before Half-Time crucially.

2-0 ahead for Greece, job well done for the German coach Michael Skibbe of the Greek team, who prior to the game said they had a need to erase Euro 2016’s qualifying phase for them and pick up points helping them to get closer to the qualification to the World Cup which is to take place in two years.

Second-Half, Cyprus showed desperate signs of immediately trying to take something from the match, with efforts by Nestor Mytides and Giorgos Efrem, and was unlucky not to score as they caught Greece’s defence by surprise with again their ambitious counter-attacking style. The second half continued and it seemed an air of content was clearly taking over; both teams were looking increasingly to the full-time whistle.

So, it seems both sides were turning their mind to Monday when they have equally very serious qualifiers to think about. All in all, Greece are definitely the happier outfit with two wins out of two games following the 4-1 away victory over Gibraltar, completing four wins on the trot. Cyprus is yet to register a single point and will be hoping with enough time ahead to make their impression for Group H’s qualification phase.

Both countries meet again in Nicosia on 7th October 2017 to wind up the campaign.

Greece is now joint top of the table along with Belgium and on Monday the team will travel to Estonia. Cyprus, still on zero points, visits Bosnia next.

Good luck Cyprus.

Greece vs Cyprus.  The game is just hours away. The two sides will face each other for their massive 2018 World Cup qualifying clash. They will meet competitively for the first time in their history. They were selected during last year’s draw; it’s been a long wait for sure. Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Gibraltar complete the line-up for Group H.

In Piraeus at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, Friday 7th October at 19:45 GMT the whistle will blow and yes, we have kick-off.

The teams have contrasting fortunes from the first set of matches which started their campaigns only last month. Off to a flying start, the Greek team picked up three points after beating Gibraltar 4-1 away. On the other hand, Cyprus will look to get a few points on the board after they lost 3-0 to Belgium in Nicosia. Despite the early set-back, the Cypriot squad are highly motivated ahead of playing their neighbours in what should prove a very intriguing competitive derby between the countries.

Michael Skibbe the German coach of the Greece side had expressed how important it was for his side to secure a winning result. ”We have to concentrate with the first match with Cyprus, to take the three points with this same will we would hope to beat Estonia. We know that the next matches will be with Bosnia and Belgium, where we have to play two very good teams. Every point helps”.

He spoke about reviving the national team’s fortunes after the failure of the last qualifying campaign, was a low-point for the side. He made the point: ”Something has changed with the dynamic of the team. For two years we took a serious ‘beating’ and everybody does not want this. They want a change.”

Just before 13:30 on Wednesday, Cyprus’ national team arrived in Athens and as scheduled completed their first training session later at Agios Kosmas.

Christakis Christoforou’s men can draw inspiration from the fact that league champions Apoel with internationals such as Giorgos Merkis, Giorgos Efrem and Pieros Sotiriou within their ranks defeated Greek giants Olympiacos 1-0 at Karaiskakis Stadium in the Europa League last week thanks to an amazing goal by Sotiriou.

The Cyprus coach emphasised his team’s ethos of playing well and treating the game in a very ‘competitive’ way. He explained ”There are teams like Belgium who are very difficult to take a positive result. Our effort with Belgium until 60′ minutes was good. We have analysed the game and the mistakes and I believe we will be in a better shape against Greece.”

Cypriot midfielder Georgios Efrem took the point ”that the game is itself unique because of our common links we have with Greece. That said however in the match we will be opponents for 90’ minutes and I hope we can take a positive result.”

The nations have only previously met in friendly matches; Cyprus in the first ever meeting between the sides in 1963 in Nicosia; walked away with a 3-1 victory on that occasion. Since then the Greek side have got the better of their clashes albeit only friendly ones, with a superior head-to-head with 15 wins, 7 draws and only 3 loses to the Cypriot side.

Good luck and may the best team win.

AEK of Larnaca achieved a great away victory on Sunday against Apollon of Limassol with 1-0 in the framework of match day 4 of the Cyprus League.

At the same time, the leader of the table APOEL beat Derynia with 2-0 in GSP Stadium and on Saturday Omonia defeated away Ethnicos Achnas with 2-1.

Match day 4 concludes on Monday with the match between Karmiotissa and AEL of Limassol. The results of match day 4: Apollon-AEK 0-1, APOEL-Anagennisi Deryneia 2-0, Doxa-Ermis Aradippou 1-2, Nea Salamina-Aris 0-0, Ethnicos Achnas – Omonia 1-2, Anorthosis-AEZ 2-2.

Standings: APOEL 9, AEK 9, Omonia 8, Apollon 7, AEL 7, Ermis 6, Anorthosis 5, Aris 3, Karmiotissa 2, Nea Salamina 2, Doxa 1, Anagennisi Deryneia 1, Ethnicos Achnas 1.

Apollon of Limassol achieved on Sunday a great victory against AEZ Zakakiou with 4-0 for matchday 3 of the Cyprus League.

At the same time, Anorthosis defeated Aris with 2-1 in Limassol and Ermis of Aradippou defeated Anagenisi Deryneias with 1-0.

On Saturday, APOEL achieved an away victory against Nea Salamina with 4-0, AEK defeated Karmiotissa with 3-0, while the match between Omonia and Doxa in GSP Stadium ended in a 1-1 tie.

Match day 3 concludes on Monday with the match between AEL of Limassol and Ethnicos Achnas.

Standings: Apollon 7, APOEL 6, AEL 6, Omonia 5, Anorthosis 4, AEZ Zakakiou 4, AEK 3, Ermis 3, Karmiotissa 2, Aris 2, Doxa 1, Nea Salamina 1, Anagennisi Deryneia 1, Ethnicos Achnas 0.