Neither of the two sides have been guaranteed of progression to the following round, but while Russia are on the brink of achieving this, Greece’s chances are significantly more remote.
With only one point from two games, Greece have put themselves in a situation where they must obtain a victory over high-flying Russia to progress to the knock-out stage of Euro 2012.
But the Greeks face a particularly daunting task, as while they do contain a relatively strong defence, which will be boosted by the return of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, they clearly lack depth in their attack. Greece boss Fernando Santos is well aware of this, and has already promised a number of changes to his side in an attempt to strengthen their offensive line.
Greece, who were beaten by Russia in the last two European championships, including the one Greece won in 2004, have clearly demonstrated that they don’t enter the field with the freshest of minds, after having conceded three early goals in their past two games, and if they repeat this on Saturday they could all but kiss goodbye to their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.
"We can make a fresh start against Russia," said Greece boss Santos. "It's in difficult circumstances that people show character, and we do have the character to face this situation."
In fact, considering that Greece are currently last in Group A, three points behind group leaders Russia, means that Santos’ side would only be guaranteed of a spot in the last eight of the competition if they beat the Russians by no less than three goals.
However, such a thing seems rather unlikely considering that the Greeks have only scored two goals in the competition, compared to Russia’s five. The fact that Dick Advocaat’s side only need a point from the game, which could involve employing defensive tactics, could also work to further frustrate the Greeks.
What makes this scenario far worse for the Galanolefki is the fact that against the Czech Republic, Santos approached the game with three strikes, and they rarely threatened the Czechs and could only mingle a scrappy goal, that arrived courtesy of a childish error from the usually-reliable Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
But regardless of their ineffective attack, like Santos said Greece have everything to play for against Russia, and will surely give it their best shot. After all they did shock the whole world in beating Portugal to win the European Championship in 2004.
But the Greeks face a particularly daunting task, as while they do contain a relatively strong defence, which will be boosted by the return of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, they clearly lack depth in their attack. Greece boss Fernando Santos is well aware of this, and has already promised a number of changes to his side in an attempt to strengthen their offensive line.
Greece, who were beaten by Russia in the last two European championships, including the one Greece won in 2004, have clearly demonstrated that they don’t enter the field with the freshest of minds, after having conceded three early goals in their past two games, and if they repeat this on Saturday they could all but kiss goodbye to their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.
"We can make a fresh start against Russia," said Greece boss Santos. "It's in difficult circumstances that people show character, and we do have the character to face this situation."
In fact, considering that Greece are currently last in Group A, three points behind group leaders Russia, means that Santos’ side would only be guaranteed of a spot in the last eight of the competition if they beat the Russians by no less than three goals.
However, such a thing seems rather unlikely considering that the Greeks have only scored two goals in the competition, compared to Russia’s five. The fact that Dick Advocaat’s side only need a point from the game, which could involve employing defensive tactics, could also work to further frustrate the Greeks.
What makes this scenario far worse for the Galanolefki is the fact that against the Czech Republic, Santos approached the game with three strikes, and they rarely threatened the Czechs and could only mingle a scrappy goal, that arrived courtesy of a childish error from the usually-reliable Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
But regardless of their ineffective attack, like Santos said Greece have everything to play for against Russia, and will surely give it their best shot. After all they did shock the whole world in beating Portugal to win the European Championship in 2004.
