The final countdown to UEFA Euro 2024 has officially begun as we approach a string of highly anticipated international friendlies. Some of the nations that are playing this week are heading for the big tournament and others aren’t, but either way, it’s important for all of them to try and build some momentum. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the impending clash between Germany and Greece.
Germany Form GuideGermany is known as one of the most successful nations in the history of the beautiful game. In recent tournaments, however, they haven’t exactly done themselves justice, going through one of their worst spells in their history when it comes to success. With that being said, the Euros will be held in their own back yard this year, which is reason enough to believe they can do something special.
The great thing for Germany is that they’ve qualified as hosts, and that they have a home crowd behind them for the entire Euros. At the same time, it’s been a while since we’ve seen them play in a proper competitive game, and we do wonder whether or not that’ll hurt them.
Greece Form GuideEveryone remembers Greece for their famous triumph back at Euro 2004 and now, 20 years later, they’re left on the outside looking in. There are definitely some solid foundations in place in comparison to recent tournaments but if they want to make a sustained push for the World Cup in a few years, they’ll need to start rediscovering their edge both at the back and in the final third.
The Greeks may not have been overly consistent in the qualifiers, but they did finish 3rd behind France and the Netherlands with 13 points to their name. They qualified for the play-offs via the Nations League, but after battering Kazakhstan 5-0 in their semi-final, they were stunned on penalties by Georgia in the final.
Match PredictionIn a game like this, the whole point is to do everything in your power to make an impact - but at the same time, there are far more important matches that lie ahead. Therefore, while we do think there will be some big moments here and there, our official prediction is under 2.5 goals scored.