Prolific Greece trounces Kazakhstan, sets up final with Georgia
Greece has got one final hurdle to clear on its way to Euro 2024, after thrashing Kazakhstan on Thursday with a 5-0 score in Athens.
The Greek national team has advanced to the final of its division in the UEFA Nations League and must beat Georgia away in five days’ time to qualify to this summer’s finals in Germany.
A truly imposing performance by the players of coach Gus Poyet at the OPAP Arena on Thursday night led to an unexpectedly comfortable victory in the division’s semifinal.
The Greeks opened the score from the first five minutes, as Dimitris Pelkas earned a penalty that captain Tasos Bakasetas converted into the first goal.
The second came just eight minutes later, this time with Pelkas translating into a goal the delightful cross from the right by Giorgos Massouras.
Massouras was also the provider for the third goal that Fotis Ioannidis scored on the 37th, three minutes before Dimitris Kourbelis headed home another cross from the right, this time by Kostas Tsimikas, for 4-0 at half-time.
The Greeks dropped a gear in the second half, as victory was already assured, but a fifth goal arrived five minutes from the end by the Kazakhs themselves: Yerkin Tapalov scored an own goal from a corner kick Greece took, once again, from the right.
The playoffs final will be played in Tbilisi on Tuesday and it is a knockout game. With performances like Thursday’s, Greece can be considered the favorite to snatch the ticket to the Euro 2024 finals.
