Greece names squad for Romania play-off
Greece coach Fernando Santos on Friday named a 24-man squad for the decisive 2014 World Cup qualifying play-off matches against Romania on November 15 and 19.
Santos recalled experienced striker Fanis Gekas and also included Bologna midfielder Panagiotis Kone, although he must sit out the first match at home due to suspension.
The Greeks had to settle for a play-off spot after finishing behind European qualifying Group G winners Bosnia-Herzegovina only on goal difference, while Romania was a distant second in itsr group behind the Netherlands and has not qualified for a World Cup finals since 1998.
“There is confidence and faith in the squad. The Romanians have an excellent team but I think in the end we will qualify,” the Portuguese Santos said.
Greece squad:
Goalkeepers: Michalis Sifakis (Atromitos), Orestis Karnezis (Granada/ESP), Stefanos Kapino (Panathinaikos)
Defenders: Vasilis Torosidis (Roma/ITA), Loukas Vyntra (Levante/ESP), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Costas Manolas, Jose Holebas, Dimitris Siovas (all Olympiakos), Giorgos Tzavellas (PAOK)
Midfielders: Costas Katsouranis, Alexandros Tziolis (both PAOK), Panayiotis Tachtsidis (Catania/ITA), Panagiotis Kone (Bologna/ITA), Yiannis Maniatis, Andreas Samaris (both Olympiakos), Giorgos Karagounis (Fulham/ENG), Sotiris Ninis (PAOK), Costas Fortounis (Kaiserslautern/GER)
Forwards: Costas Mitroglou (Olympiakos), Fanis Gekas (Konyaspor/TUR), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Bologna/ITA), Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK), Giorgos Samaras (Celtic/SCO) [AFP]
