The wait is finally over as the hosts Poland face off Greece in the opening match of the Euro Cup 2012.
Poland coach Franciszek Smuda has trust on the young Polish side; however, pulling it off against the Greece might not be an easy task.
Poland has the advantage of playing at their home, and is counting on the support of the fans, "We can see that when we go to training sessions, we can see the support on the streets, people cheering and waving รข€“ it's great. I hope it will continue until the very end of the tournament." said the coach of the team.
But on field, Poland has managed to win only 3 games in any major tournaments in the last 30 years.
However, Poland has been unbeaten in their last 6 matches, winning 5 of them. And it is very much expected that Smuda would field the same team which got victory for them in their last two matches against Andorra and Slovakia.
On the other hand, 2004 Euro champions Greece would not find it difficult to surpass the young Polish team, but they haven't taken them lightly as they are playing in the den of their opposition.
It would be the first major outing for the Greece coach Fernando Santos, after he took over Otto Rehhagel, the man who led Greece to 2004 European glory.
Greece is much ahead of Poland in the FIFA rankings, as they are placed 15th while Poland sits long back at 62nd position. But in the last two international friendly games, one has been won by Poland, while the other was a scoreless draw.
Greece has lost only one game (3-1 to Romania in NOV 2011) in 21 games since Santos took charge in 2010. They also have strong defense line that has ceded only 5 goals in 10 qualifying games. Thus, on paper and in terms of experience the Greece looks better than the hosts, however going by the statistics of the recent games of the two teams, surprises can be expected.
So, now it is only a matter of few hours for the Polish fans to see their team locking horns in the Euro 2012 opener.
Poland coach Franciszek Smuda has trust on the young Polish side; however, pulling it off against the Greece might not be an easy task.
Poland has the advantage of playing at their home, and is counting on the support of the fans, "We can see that when we go to training sessions, we can see the support on the streets, people cheering and waving รข€“ it's great. I hope it will continue until the very end of the tournament." said the coach of the team.
But on field, Poland has managed to win only 3 games in any major tournaments in the last 30 years.
However, Poland has been unbeaten in their last 6 matches, winning 5 of them. And it is very much expected that Smuda would field the same team which got victory for them in their last two matches against Andorra and Slovakia.
On the other hand, 2004 Euro champions Greece would not find it difficult to surpass the young Polish team, but they haven't taken them lightly as they are playing in the den of their opposition.
It would be the first major outing for the Greece coach Fernando Santos, after he took over Otto Rehhagel, the man who led Greece to 2004 European glory.
Greece is much ahead of Poland in the FIFA rankings, as they are placed 15th while Poland sits long back at 62nd position. But in the last two international friendly games, one has been won by Poland, while the other was a scoreless draw.
Greece has lost only one game (3-1 to Romania in NOV 2011) in 21 games since Santos took charge in 2010. They also have strong defense line that has ceded only 5 goals in 10 qualifying games. Thus, on paper and in terms of experience the Greece looks better than the hosts, however going by the statistics of the recent games of the two teams, surprises can be expected.
So, now it is only a matter of few hours for the Polish fans to see their team locking horns in the Euro 2012 opener.
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