Greece's first appearance in a major tournament was atUEFA Euro 1980 where they were knocked out in the group stage. Their qualification to the then eight-teamUEFA European Championship gave them a position in the top eight European football nations that year. Greece did not qualify for another major tournament until the1994 FIFA World Cup and after an undefeated qualifying campaign, they produced a poor performance in the final, losing all three group matches without scoring.
UEFA Euro 2004 marked the highest point in Greece's football history when they won the tournament in only their second participation. Dismissed as rank outsiders before the tournament, Greece defeated some of the favourites in the competition including defending European championsFrance and hostsPortugal twice. During the tournament, Greece defeated the hosts in both theopening game of the tournament and again in thefinal. Their triumph earned them a place in the2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.
In the decade after the 2004 victory, Greece qualified for the finals tournament of all but one major competition entered, reaching thequarter-finals at theUEFA Euro 2012 and theround of 16 at the2014 FIFA World Cup. During that period, they occupied a place in the top 20 of theFIFA World Ranking for all but four months, and reached an all-time high of eighth in the world from April to June 2008, as well as in October 2011.
Since 2014, Greece has not made an appearance at the final of any tournament.
The first three editions of theOlympic football event (1900–06) had an unofficial status, as the event was not yet open for national football teams to compete, and only had limited participation of three or four club teams from a few nations. Greece had no club team invited in the1900 Olympics and the1904 Olympics, but then hosted the1906 Olympics, competing against a Danish club team again (DBU Copenhagen) and two club teams from the Ottoman Empire (Smyrna andThessaloniki). The team to represent Greece compiled of players from Athens, hence theAthens City selection, and in thefinal they conceded 9 goals from the Denmark XI in the first half alone, and thereby they withdrew from the final at half time, and were then invited to a play-off in a match to decide the second place, but Athens declined and were promptly ejected from the tournament.[5]
Greece had to wait 13 years for their next (unofficial) appearance when they participated in theInter-Allied Games inParis in 1919, following the end ofWorld War I, and once again it was a disaster as the team conceded twenty goals without reply in their first two games, although this time with a silver lining since Greece managed to beatRomania in their third and final match with a dramatic 3–2 win.[6] In the following year, Greece participated in the1920 Summer Games ofAntwerp, being knocked out in the first round bySweden with yet another heavy defeat (9–0). This match is recognized as their first official match byFIFA.[7] Notable figures during these years wasGiorgos Kalafatis, player and later manager of the team, andGiannis Andrianopoulos.
The Greece national team's first official match came on 7 April 1929 in a 1–4 loss toItaly B, withAlberto Nahmias being the author of the nation's first-ever official goal.[8]
Between 1949 and 1958, Greece participated in threeMediterranean Cups, with their best campaign coming in the1950–53 Mediterranean Cup when they finished second just one point short ofItaly B. A notable figure during these years wasGeorgios Darivas, who was the top goal scorer of the 1950-53 edition with 4 goals, a tally that includes ahat-trick againstTurkey.[10]
During the following decades, Greece had passion but little international success in the sport, as the nation's economic and social situations afterWorld War II did not allow for successful development of a national team.
Greece, under the guidance ofAlketas Panagoulias, made its first appearance in a major tournament at theEuro 1980 in Italy, afterqualifying top of a group that included theSoviet Union andHungary, both world football powers.[12] In the final tournament, Greece was drawn into group A withWest Germany, theNetherlands, andCzechoslovakia. In their first game, Greece held the Dutch until the only goal of the game was scored with apenalty kick byKist, in the 65th minute. Three days later Greece played Czechoslovakia inRome. After holding the Czechoslovakians 1–1 at the end the first half, Greece eventually lost 3–1. In their last game, Greece earned a 0–0 draw against eventual winners West Germany, concluding what was considered a decent overall performance in the team's maiden presence in a final phase of any football competition.
Greece failed to qualify for six competitive tournaments: three World Cups and three Euros, during which the Greeks largely produced poor performance. Despite this, Greece did have some surprisingly good results, such as a shock away draw toItaly in the1982 FIFA World Cup qualification; a 3–2 win away overHungary and a goalless draw away toEngland for theUEFA Euro 1984 qualifying; a goalless home draw toBelgium in the1986 FIFA World Cup qualification; a surprise 1–0 home victory overPoland in theUEFA Euro 1988 qualifying; a 1–0 shock home win overBulgaria and a 1–1 draw toDenmark in the1990 FIFA World Cup qualification; and a heroic 3–2 comeback victory overPortugal. However, Greece suffered from shortage of quality strikers and its defence was largely disorganized at best, resulting in Greece botching important games and thus failed to qualify.
The team's success in qualifying for the1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, marked the first time they had made it to theFIFA World Cup finals.[13] Greece finished first and undefeated in theirqualifying group, surpassingRussia in the final game. In the final tournament Greece were drawn intoGroup D withNigeria,Bulgaria, andArgentina.[14] After the successful qualifying campaign, expectations back in Greece were high as no one could imagine the oncoming astounding failure.[15] Most notable reason for this complete failure was the fact thatAlketas Panagoulias opted to take a squad full of those players – though most of them aging and out of form – that helped the team in the qualifying instead of new emerging talents seeing it as a reward for their unprecedented success.[16] Furthermore, they had the disadvantage of being drawn into a "group of death", with runners-up at the1990 FIFA World Cup Argentina, later semifinalists Bulgaria, and Nigeria, one of the strongest African teams. Panagoulias was also criticized for his and the Greek Federation's practice of carrying the players around to various events of the Greek community and sponsors before the official matches.[16] It is worth mentioning that all players of the squad, including the three goalkeepers, took part in those three games, something very rare.
This tournament was humiliating for the Greece squad, though it was understandable (if not say predictable) given its maiden appearance and the vast disparity of quality of opponents. In their first game against Argentina atFoxboro Stadium just outside Boston, they lost 4–0. Four days later Greece suffered another 4–0 blow from Bulgaria atSoldier Field in Chicago, and then, in what would be their final game, they lost to Nigeria 2–0 at Foxboro Stadium again. In the end, Greece were eliminated in the first round by losing all three games, scoring no goals and conceding ten.
Greece failed to qualify for theEuro 1996 finishing third in the group behindRussia andScotland. In their1998 World Cup qualifying tournament the team finished only one point shy of second-placedCroatia after a 0–0 draw by the eventual Group winners, theDanish. Croatia and Denmark would make the Semi-Finals and Quarter-Finals respectively, of that World Cup. In theirEuro 2000 qualifying group, Greece finished again in third place, two points behind second-placedSlovenia in a highly disappointing campaign that saw the team lose at home toLatvia. In the2002 World Cup qualifying Greece finished a disappointing fourth in their group behindEngland,Germany andFinland, which led to the sacking of coachVasilios Daniil,[17] replaced byOtto Rehhagel. Highlights of the campaign included a 5–1 defeat in Finland and the 2–2 draw that followed in England, the first of two games the Greece national team would be under the reins of the German coach.
Greece started theUEFA Euro 2004qualification campaign with defeats at home toSpain and away toUkraine, both with a 2–0 scoreline. The team went on to win their remaining six games, including a 1–0 away win over Spain inZaragoza, securing first place in the group and an appearance in theEuropean Championship finals for the first time in 24 years.
Greece were the second-least favorite in the competition to win, withLatvia being the least favorite. Greece were also considered as outsiders and underdogs and were given odds of 150–1 of winning before the tournament.[18] They were drawn in Group A, ending up withPortugal, Spain andRussia, a "group of death"; Portugal, hosts and favourites to win, Spain,UEFA Euro 1964 champions and favorites to win, and Russia, who won the first-ever tournament as the Soviet Union. Very few people expected Greece to proceed to the quarter-finals, let alone win the tournament.
In the opening match against hostsPortugal, Greece achieved a surprise 2–1 victory,[19] receiving the nickname "pirate ship" (Το Πειρατικό) used by Greek sportscasters in reference to the floating ship used in the tournament's opening ceremony. Greece won with a 25-yard strike byGiorgos Karagounis and a penalty byAngelos Basinas. Four days later, Greece stunned Spain in front of a largely Spanish crowd with a 1–1 draw after being down 1–0 at half time.[20] Greece fell behind from a defensive lapse, which allowedFernando Morientes to score. However a sublime diagonal pass by playmakerVasilios Tsiartas allowedAngelos Charisteas to score an equaliser in the second half, giving Greece hope of qualifying. In the final group match Greece fell behind 2–0 to Russia (who were already eliminated) within the first ten minutes of the game but managed to pull one back throughZisis Vryzas and thus progressed to the next round, at the expense of Spain, on goals scored.Dmitri Kirichenko had the chance to eliminate Greece in the final minutes of this match, but his stretched effort squeezed just wide.
In the quarter-finals Greece faced off with the undefeated and reigning championsFrance. At 65 minutes Greece took the lead. Angelos Basinas played a perfect pass to captainTheodoros Zagorakis, who flicked the ball high in the air, past veteran French defenderBixente Lizarazu, and sent a perfect cross to Angelos Charisteas for the header and goal. Greece held on to win despite a late French onslaught, with close efforts byThierry Henry, thus knocking France out of Euro 2004 and becoming the first team ever to defeat both the hosts and defending champions in the same tournament.[21]
Greece reached the semi-finals to face theCzech Republic, who were the only team to defeat all of their opponents to that point. The Czech record included a convincing 3–2 win over theNetherlands, a 2–1 win overGermany, and a 3–0 win overDenmark in the quarter-finals. At this stage in the tournament the Czechs were favourites to take the trophy. The game began nervously for Greece, as the Czech Republic applied much pressure.Tomáš Rosický hit the bar in the opening minutes, andJan Koller had several efforts saved byAntonios Nikopolidis. The Czechs chances were dealt a blow when influential midfielderPavel Nedvěd left the pitch injured in the first half. After 90 minutes the game ended 0–0, despite the Czechs having most of the game's missed chances. In the final minute of the first half of extra time, a close rangesilver goal header byTraianos Dellas from a corner of Vasilios Tsiartas ended the Czech campaign, putting Greece into the final of Euro 2004 and sending their fans into euphoria.[22][23][24]
For the first time in history the final was a repeat of the opening match, with Greece and hosts Portugal facing off in a rematch. In the 57th minute Charisteas gave Greece the lead with a header from a corner byAngelos Basinas.[25] Portugal had much of the possession, but the Greece defence was solid and dealt with most attacks.Cristiano Ronaldo had a good chance to equalise in the dying moments, but could not apply a finish. Greece held on to win 1–0, winning the tournament, an achievement considered by many to be one of the greatest football upsets in history, if not the greatest.[26][27][28] Greece captain Zagorakis was named the player of the tournament, having led Greece and made the most tackles in the entire tournament.[29]
After winning theEuro 2004, Greece facedUkraine,Turkey,Denmark,Albania,Georgia andKazakhstan inGroup 2 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament. Greece opened their campaign with a 2–1 loss to Albania in Tirana before draws with Turkey (0–0) and Ukraine (1–1) followed by a 3–1 victory over Kazakhstan.
In 2005, Greece resumed their campaign with three victories, defeating Denmark 2–1; Georgia 3–1; and Albania 2–0; before earning a goalless away draw with Turkey. Just prior to the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, Greece lost 1–0 at home to Ukraine after a late goal fromAndriy Husin.[35] Following a 2–1 away win against Kazakhstan, the team experienced a setback after a 1–0 defeat to Denmark inCopenhagen diminished their chances of qualification.
In their last game, Greece defeated Georgia, finishing in fourth place, four points behind first-placed Ukraine, two behind Turkey, and a point behind Denmark. Throughout the match, fans in theKaraiskakis Stadium chanted the name ofOtto Rehhagel in their utmost support and he said afterwards"Even if 10 years pass, part of my heart will be Greek".[36]
They began theirEuro 2008 qualification campaign with victories over Moldova, Norway and Bosnia and Herzegovina before suffering a 4–1 home loss against Turkey inAthens. Greece went on to win away to Malta, with the only goal coming in the 66th minute from anAngelos Basinas penalty, beat Hungary and Moldova at home and drew 2–2 away to Norway despite having hit the goalpost three times in this match. The draw inOslo was followed by a 3–2 home win against Bosnia-Herzegovina and a 1–0 away win to Turkey, securing its presence to the Euro 2008 finals at their old rival's home ground.[37] In the last two matches, Greece overcame Malta 5–0 in Athens and defeated Hungary with an away 2–1 win, finishing first in their group with a total of 31 points, the most points gained among any team in qualifying.
As defending European champions, Greece were top seed for the final tournament and were drawn withSweden,Spain, andRussia inGroup D.
In the tournament, Greece team lost all three games and scored only one goal. Greece underperformed in the opening match against Sweden and lost 2–0 before losing 1–0 to Russia. Having already been eliminated, Angelos Charisteas opened the scoring for Greece against Spain, but lost 2–1, becoming the first defending champion not to earn a single point in the next European Championship.
Despite the prowess ofEurope's top 2010 World Cup qualifying top scorer, Theofanis Gekas—who produced 10 goals in as many games—Greece took second place to Switzerland inGroup 2 of UEFA qualification, thus advancing to a home-and-awayplayoff round, where they facedUkraine. After a scoreless draw at home in the first match, the second leg inDonetsk saw Greece triumph with a 1–0 win, sending Greece to the2010 FIFA World Cup.[38] At the 2010 World Cup draw inCape Town, South Africa on 4 December 2009, Greece found itself grouped with two familiar opponents from its first World Cup appearance in 1994.Argentina andNigeria were yet again drawn into group stage play alongside Greece, this time intoGroup B withSouth Korea replacing Greece's third 1994 opponent,Bulgaria.[39]
In its World Cup opener, Greece lost 2–0 to South Korea after a dismal performance characterized by excessive long-ball attacks and a lack of offensive creativity. In the second fixture against Nigeria, Greece won 2–1,[40] coming from behind after conceding an early goal.Dimitris Salpingidis scored Greece's first-ever goal in the World Cup finals in the 44th minute of the first half to tie the match at 1–1.[41]Vasilis Torosidis scored the winning goal in the 71st minute, securing the first points and first victory for Greece in tournament history. In the third match against heavily favoured Argentina, Greece needed a combination of results to advance to the next round. As expected, in what would be his final game as Greece's national team head coach,Otto Rehhagel conjured up a very defensive-minded strategy, leavingGeorgios Samaras with nearly all offensive responsibilities as the lone striker. The strategy nearly paid off in the second half with the score still locked at 0–0 when Samaras beat the last Argentine defender on a quick long-ball counter-attack but curled a rushed shot just wide of the far post. Greece held Argentina scoreless until the 77th minute but ultimately lost 2–0, finishing third in Group B.
Greece moved from 13th to 12th in theFIFA World Rankings following the tournament. Russia, Croatia and France dropped lower than Greece while Uruguay and Chile jumped ahead of them.
Twenty-four hours removed from Greece's World Cup loss to Argentina, Otto Rehhagel stepped away from his post as Greece national team manager.[42] Eight days later a new era in Greece football was ushered in as theHellenic Football Federation named formerAEK Athens andPAOK bossFernando Santos the new manager.[43] Under Santos the Greece immediately went to work on an unprecedented streak of success, setting a senior-club record by going unbeaten in Santos' first seventeen matches as manager. While Greece's proficiency in stifling opposition attacks seemed to wane toward the end of Rehhagel's tenure, the emergence of Santos seemed to galvanize Greece defending once more. Through seven international friendlies and ten Euro 2012 qualifiers, Greece kept nineclean sheets and conceded just one goal in each of the remaining eight contests. From start to end of their unbeaten run, Santos' national side moved from No. 12 to No. 8 in FIFA's world rankings, equaling the highest mark in history credited by FIFA to Greece. Only one match from their streak featured a team (other than Greece) that appeared at the 2010 World Cup, a 1–0 defeat of Serbia inBelgrade.
With its late-game comeback victory overGeorgia in October 2011, Greece padded its historic football tournament résumé, most importantly by sealing an automatic berth intoUEFA's 2012 European Football Championship tournament. For the second time in team history the national side won its qualifying group for a major football tournament without a single loss incurred, as Greece also went undefeated in1994 World Cup qualifiers. Adding to its1980,2004 and2008 Euro qualifying campaigns, the Georgia triumph marked the fifth time overall that Greece has won its qualification group for a major tournament. Although their tendency to produce positive results remained steady throughout qualifying, so too did the Greece proclivity to start games slowly and concede early goals. This habit would plague Greece through qualifying and eventually tarnish their Euro 2012 performances.
Over two qualifying contests, Greece trailed Georgia on the scoreboard for 130 of 180 minutes and still managed to grab four of six possible points in the standings by way of three late strikes. Goals scored in the dying minutes of games, often coming from defenders, became somewhat of a Greek signature onGroup F's table. In fact Greece was able to take and keep a first-half lead just once in ten games, the 3–1 home defeat ofMalta which wasranked 50th of 53 teams in Europe. In Malta, a last-second tie-breaking strike from defenderVasilis Torosidis pocketed a crucial extra two points in the standings for Greece, the same number of points it held overCroatia at the end of qualifying. Despite allowing weaker teams in the group to bring the game to them, Greece admirably held powerful Croatia scoreless through two meetings and deservedly won Group F four days after a decisive 2–0 home win versus the second-place Croats. Theofanis Gekas, who retired from national team service in 2010 after Fernando Santos' third game as manager, came out of retirement in time to contribute a goal to the result. Gekas was eventually included in Santos's 23-man Euro 2012 roster, leaving out Euro 2004 hero, Angelos Charisteas who scored the group-clinching goal in the aforementioned Greece qualifying victory in Georgia.
"Shades of 2004" was a commonly perceived theme regarding the buildup to Euro 2012 for Greece and their progression through the tournament. As in 2004 Greece was drawn into the same group as the host nation,Poland on this occasion, and also had the pressure of playing in the tournament's opening match. Two familiar foes from its 2004 championship run,Russia andCzech Republic, joined Greece and Poland in Group A on 2 December 2011 at the tournament's final draw in Kyiv. Upon drawing the lowest-ranked teams from Pots 1 and 2 as well as the second-lowest from Pot 4, Greece's prospects of passing the group stage at Euro 2012 were given a boost.
Ideas of steering "To Piratiko" to a dream start in host-nation territory as Greece did in Portugal eight years before, rapidly turned sour during the opening match's first half. From the outset Greece appeared uncomfortable holding the ball for long spells and seemed content to allow hosts Poland to push numbers forward with the ball, hoping to score through counter-attacks. However, Poland made the most of its early possession, as top scorerRobert Lewandowski converted a header from a goal line cross past a scurryingKostas Chalkias. Hope and momentum continued to tip in favor of Poland whenSokratis Papastathopoulos received his second yellow card of the game in just the 44th minute from Spanish refereeCarlos Velasco Carballo. Greece began to boss the game after halftime while playing down a man.Dimitris Salpingidis made the greatest impact on the game for Greece as a second-half substitute, making brilliant penetrating runs behind the Polish defense, eventually bringing the game level 1–1 on a mistake by Poland keeperWojciech Szczęsny. Salpingidis was then responsible for levelling up the numbers for Greece when Szczęsny made a red-card foul on Salpingidis' breakaway attempt on goal in the 68th minute. But Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis' subsequent penalty kick was turned away by substitute keeperPrzemysław Tytoń. A second goal by Salpingidis was disallowed as he was assisted by an offsideKostas Fortounis, denying Greece's best opportunity to take three points from what ended as an improbable 1–1 draw.
The Czech Republic exploited Greece's weakness at the left-defender position early in the second group stage match, notching two goals in the first six minutes. Just as Poland had, the Czechs repeatedly penetrated Greece back line behind left-side defenderJosé Holebas, scoring on a through-ball and a cross from Cholevas' side.Petr Čech's gaffe on aGeorgios Samaras cross in the second half turned into a gift goal for Theofanis Gekas. The Czechs then eased off on their early pressure, opting to sit back and guard their lead for much of the second half, but Gekas' goal was too little too late. Greece lost the match 2–1, placing them at the foot of Group A in need of a victory over the attack-minded Russians to advance to the knockout rounds.
After thrashing the Czech Republic 4–1 and displaying more offensive potency in a 1–1 draw with Poland, the Russians were favored to earn the one point they needed to advance against the Greeks, especially since they defeated the Greeks in the previous two European Championships. However, Greece delivered a trademark 1–0 defensive victory and advanced to the Euro 2012 quarterfinals.[44] Greece scored when Russia defenderSergei Ignashevich errantly headed a Greece throw-in behind the Russian defense for Giorgos Karagounis to pounce on. Greece's captain sprinted in on goal and struck the ball at the back post under keeperVyacheslav Malafeev in first-half stoppage time to send the Russians reeling into the locker rooms. Ignashevich appeared to have conceded an additional golden scoring opportunity for Greece upon tripping Karagounis in the Russian penalty area early in the second half, but refereeJonas Eriksson instead booked Karagounis for what he believed to besimulation. This being Karagounis' second yellow card of the tournament, Greece was to be without its suspended captain in the next round. With that victory, Greece qualified to the quarterfinals for a second time after their successful Euro 2004 campaign.
Greece played againstGermany for a place in the semi-finals ofEuro 2012, but they were eliminated after a 4–2 loss in the quarter-final match.
In the quarter-finals, Greece met with aGermany side that won all three of its group matches againstPortugal,Denmark andthe Netherlands. Greece applied very little pressure in the midfield in the opening period, slowing the tempo of the game and affording Germany the majority of possession. YoungSotiris Ninis switched off momentarily in defence, allowing German captainPhilipp Lahm to cut infield and open the scoring with a long-distance strike. Greece remained calm as inGeorgios Samaras they carried a constant threat. On the counter-attack, they pulled level early in the second half; regaining possession in their defensive third,Georgios Fotakis foundDimitris Salpingidis streaking 40 yards deep into German territory. Salpingidis delivered a ball five yards in front of goalkeeperManuel Neuer, which Samaras was able to meet and power underneath Neuer for the equalizer. Twenty minutes later, however, the Germans led 4–1. Greece scored an 89th-minute penalty kick by Salpingidis, but the match ended 4–2 to the Germans, ending Greece's Euro 2012 campaign.
To reach the2014 World Cup in Brazil, Greece had to contend with a team on the rise inBosnia and Herzegovina and a dangerousSlovakian side seemingly in decline since its memorable 2010 World Cup qualifying and finals performances.Latvia, a familiar qualification foe for Greece in its previous two major tournaments (2010 World Cup,Euro 2012), joined the fray as well. Ahead of those aforesaid tournaments, Bosnia twice narrowly missed out on its first major international tournament appearance due toconsecutive playoff defeats at the hands of Portugal. No playoff would be necessary for Bosnia in 2013, as itwon its qualifying group over Greece ongoal difference. The decisive match was in Bosnia on 22 March, when Greece succumbed to three set-piece goals (two free-kick headers and one penalty miss rebound) in a 3–1 defeat. Greece's defense proved rigid throughout qualifying, conceding zero goals in open play. Four goals were allowed by Greece in ten games, the first of which was a penalty by Latvia, and yet four goals were too many for a relatively unproductive Grece attack to overcome. Though Greece was shut out just once, the team only managed to score 12 goals, an output Bosnia reached in its second game.
Following group playRomania, which claimed second place overHungary andTurkey in a group dominated by theDutch, awaited Greece in atwo-legged playoff. The last time the two sides met in late 2011, Romania came into Greece and dealt Fernando Santos his first defeat as manager in his 18th game at the bench. Greece reversed the prior 3–1 result in their favour this time, scoring each goal through skillful one-touch passing and finishing.Kostas Mitroglou accounted for three of Greece's four goals in a 4–2 aggregate playoff victory, though none were actual game-winners.Dimitris Salpingidis notched the game winner in Athens, while the second leg finished 1–1 inBucharest.[45]
Aracaju was chosen as the team's base camp for the tournament in Brazil.[46][47][48] Greece was drawn intoGroup C withColombia,Côte d'Ivoire andJapan and ultimately created an extraordinarily similar tournament experience as it did two years prior at Euro 2012. Greece conceded an early goal in their first game against Colombia, butPanagiotis Kone narrowly missed equalizing just one minute after Colombia's fifth-minute goal. Trailing 2–0 in the 63rd minute, Theofanis Gekas' header from six yards struck the crossbar for Greece's best chance of the match. The Colombians proved to be the more clinical finishers, prevailing 3–0 despite an even number of shots for both teams and a slight possession advantage in Greece's favor.[49] To stave off the threat of elimination, the Greece needed to earn at least a point in their second match with Japan, who sat alongside them at the bottom of Group C. The task grew more difficult once captainKostas Katsouranis received two yellow cards, reducing Greece to ten men in the 38th minute. Greece held out for a 0–0 draw and remained tied with Japan on points. The draw made it necessary for Greece to defeat Ivory Coast in their final group match in order to reach the round of 16 for the first time in their history. An early injury to midfielder Panagiotis Kone brought on youngOlympiacos midfielderAndreas Samaris, who would score his first international goal after intercepting a poor back-pass by an Ivorian defender.Swansea City strikerWilfried Bony equalized for Ivory Coast in the 73rd minute. In the first minute of stoppage time, Ivory Coast strikerGiovanni Sio obstructed a Samaras shot by clipping him from behind in the Ivorian penalty area, resulting in a Greece penalty kick which Samaras converted with 30 seconds remaining in the game, prompting wild celebrations in Greece.[50]
As Group C runners-up Greece was paired in theround of 16 withGroup D shock winnersCosta Rica, who won their first-ever World Cup group stage ahead of former world champions Uruguay, Italy and England. Trailing 1–0 but handed an advantage by the dismissal of Costa RicanÓscar Duarte, Greece forced extra time through aSokratis Papastathopoulos equalizer ten seconds into stoppage time. This was the only goal that Costa Rica goalkeeperKeylor Navas conceded in open play throughout the tournament. Navas thwarted several opportunities for Greece throughout the 30 minutes of extra time and saved Theofanis Gekas' penalty in the game's concluding penalty shootout. Costa Rica claimed its first World Cup knockout stage victory and denied Greece its first by defeating Greece 5–3 on penalties.
The team appointedClaudio Ranieri as head coach in July 2014. He was sacked in November of the same year after a shocking home defeat to theFaroe Islands.[51]Sergio Markarián was appointed in his place, but he too came under fire, after the team's terrible performances in the remainingUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying. The team's form after September 2014 proved to be abysmal, with no wins in over a year. Greece finished in last place in theirEuro Qualifying group, earning just one victory againstHungary in the final round, and failing to qualify for the tournament. Greece, along withthe Netherlands andBosnia and Herzegovina were the only nations fromPot 1 not to qualify for thefinals. Those three had taken part in the2014 FIFA World Cup. Incidentally, the three teams would also fail to qualify for the World Cup in 2018.
In attempting to qualify for the2018 FIFA World Cup, Greece would suffer a second successive failure to reach a major tournament, despite improvements and some positive results. They finished second in Group H of the European qualifying stages, nine points behind runaway leadersBelgium and two points clear of third placedBosnia and Herzegovina. Greece were subsequently drawn against Croatia in the play-off round, where they were knocked out over two legs; a 4–1 away defeat set the tone for Greece's campaign and in the second leg, they drew a blank in a 0–0 stalemate against the Croats to signify the end of their World Cup hopes.[52]
2018–19 Nations League and Euro 2020 qualifying: Inconsistency, fall and promising finish
Greece had to start theirUEFA Nations League inLeague C due to previously poor performance. Greece won and lost three games each to these opponents altogether, and only finished third in the Nations League and was unable to promote toLeague B when UEFA revised the format.
Greece's qualification campaign forUEFA Euro 2020 commenced with the team being placed inGroup J. Due to disappointing results,John van 't Schip decided not to call-up some of the leading members of the squad, such asSokratis Papastathopoulos andKostas Manolas for their final matches. A more youthful Greek showed a massive improvement in their attacking and pressing style of play. In the final three games Greece achieved successive victories. Greece finished third in the final table but this was still not enough to earn a play-off spot.
2020–21 Nations League and 2022 World Cup qualifying
Having been forced to remain inLeague C due to poor performance, Greece had to start its campaign on their quest to be promoted. Greece needed a win in the last game against Slovenia at home to achieve promotion toLeague B. The match ended on 0-0, with Greece failing to promote a second consecutive time, despite being unbeaten and having conceded just one goal.
Greece was put inGroup B for the2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The campaign started with an upset away 1–1 draw against group favouritesSpain, but was followed by two 1-1 draws toGeorgia at home andKosovo away. A 2–1 home win overSweden kept the hopes for qualification alive, and was followed by a 2–0 away win against Georgia. At the crucial away match in Stockholm, Greece made a good performance in the first half but eventually lost 2–0 to Sweden. Another loss, 1–0 at home to group winners Spain ratified Greece's elimination from the finals, with Greece failing to qualify for a World Cup for the second consecutive time.
Their Nations League success guaranteed them a playoff spot should they not qualify directly. They subsequently were put into theGroup B for theEuro 2024 qualifiers along withthe Netherlands,France,the Republic of Ireland, andGibraltar.[55][56] After they finished third in their group, they qualified for the playoffs due to their Nations League success.[57][58] In thesemi-final of the Path C play-off, Greece won comfortably at home againstKazakhstan (5–0), scoring 2 goals in the first quarter-hour and taking a 4-goal lead at half-time. However, they were eliminated in theplay-off final away byGeorgia on penalties (2–4) after a goalless draw throughout 120 minutes.[59]
2024–25 Nations League and World Cup 2026 qualifying
Ultimately, Greece would finish second of the table, having lost to England 3–0 at the mass-scale attendedAthens Olympic Stadium in the reverse fixture that condemned the Greeks to second due to inferior goal difference, but secured a place for thepromotion play-offs, in a two-leg tie againstScotland.
On 20 Match 2025, the first leg was hosted at theKaraiskakis Stadium inPiraeus, which was declared as Greece's national venue since 2024. A successful penalty kick fromScott McTominay at the 33th minute, leaded to a 0-1 home loss. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Greek-bornK.R.C. Genk wonderkidKonstantinos Karetsas, whose change of association from Belgium to Greece was approved just two weeks before his first-ever Greek international debut as a substitute, was a key influence to Greece's full control during the second half of the game, despite their loss.
That paid off during the second leg hosted atHampden Park in Glasgow three days later, when Greece, with an average starting-eleven age of a record-breaking 22.7 years, including the scoring attacking midfielder trio ofGiannis Konstantelias, Konstantinos Karetsas (whose goal marked him as the youngest Nations League scorer, surpassingLamine Yamal) andChristos Tzolis, dominated and overturned the Scots' initial result in a 3-0 away win (3-1 on aggregate), and secured their first ever promotion to the League A of the competition.[60]
Traditionally, Greece has spent most of its history playing home matches in different stadiums primarily in or nearAthens, as well as in various other cities across the country. The national team's home ground was theKaraiskakis Stadium inPiraeus from its reconstruction in 2004 until 2017.[61]
Since their first international fixture in 1929 and for the next 33 years, Greece regularly used theLeoforos Alexandras Stadium as their home ground. Their first home match away from it was played at theNikos Goumas Stadium in 1962, and the Karaiskakis Stadium was used for the first time in 1964 after it was renovated. In 1966,Kaftanzoglio Stadium inThessaloniki became the first venue outside Athens to host the national team. From then on, these stadiums were alternated until the early 1980s, along with others like Thessaloniki'sToumba Stadium andKleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, inaugurated in 1975 and 1977, respectively. Greece also played home matches at other venues such asKostas Davourlis Stadium inPatras andAnthi Karagianni Stadium inKavala during the 1970s. In 1982, theGeorgios Kamaras Stadium was added to the list of Athens-based home grounds.
On 16 November 1983, the newly builtAthens Olympic Stadium (OAKA), the largest in the country, hosted the national team for the first time in a UEFA Euro 1984 qualifier against Denmark. It served as the primary home ground throughout the 1980s and 1990s, until it closed for renovations in 2001. During this period, matches were also held at other stadiums, both in Athens and in provincial cities. From the early 2000s, the Athens Olympic Stadium was gradually used less frequently. Between 2000 and the Euro 2004 qualifiers, Greece returned to using the Leoforos Alexandras Stadium. From 2004 onwards, the Karaiskakis Stadium became the primary home venue, with few matches played elsewhere. In 2018, Greece returned to the OAKA for a friendly against Switzerland and announced it as the home ground for the UEFA Nations League.[62]
For the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers, Greece initially planned to split matches between OAKA in Athens and thePankritio Stadium inHeraklion, Crete. However, as the latter required upgrades to meet FIFA standards, the entire campaign was held in Athens. They remained at OAKA until 2021, before making a temporary move to the Georgios Kamaras Stadium later that year for the UEFA Nations League, with two matches also hosted in Volos.
On 7 March 2023, it was announced that the newly builtAgia Sophia Stadium inNea Filadelfeia, Athens, would become the national team's new home ground. However, for the2024 Nations League campaign, Greece returned to the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus for the first time since 2017.[63]
Last updated: Greece vs. Scotland, 15 November 2025
The following list contains foreign stadiums where Greece has been considered the home team. This list includes friendlies,FIFA World Cup andUEFA European Championship matches.
Greece's traditional colors are blue and white, originating from theGreece flag. Although blue was used as the home kit since the team's inception, white became the primary home color followingUEFA Euro 2004. In recent decades, Greece has worn either a set of white jerseys, shorts, and socks or an all-blue combination. Formerly, the kit consisted of a combination of blue jerseys and white shorts and vice versa. Meanwhile, Greece's kit has occasionally featured stripes, crosses, or other designs, as well as various values of blue.
On 10 April 2013, theHellenic Football Federation announced a partnership with American manufacturerNike, which is Greece's current official supplier, with their first kit debuting on 7 June 2013 in the away match toLithuania.[64][65] On 4 March 2014, Greece unveiled their latest kit also worn at the2014 FIFA World Cup.[66]
The crest (εθνόσημο means "national sign"),[67] which is used in the kit, is the official emblem of the national team.[68]
Traditionally, Greece is referred to by the media and theGreeks in general simply asEthniki (Εθνική) in Greek, which means 'National'. The team is often calledGalanolefki (Sky blue-white) due to the use of the colors of theGreece flag as kit colors. Both nicknames are used for the country's national teams in other sports as well.
During the opening ceremony at theUEFA Euro 2004, which took place right before the inaugural game of the tournament between Greece and hostsPortugal, a replica of a 16th-century ship was used referring to the expeditions of the Portuguese explorers of that time. Greek radio sports journalistGeorgios Helakis, while broadcasting the opening match, commented that"since the Portuguese team appeared in such a ship, it's time for us to become pirates and steal the victory". Eventually, Greece beat the hosts and the team was described asPiratiko, meaning the 'Pirate ship', which emerged as the new nickname of the team repeated with every win during the tournament. Especially after Greece won in thefinal to Portugal, the new nickname was established to commemorate the coronation of Greece asEuropean champions.
Greece has a historical rivalry withTurkey; having played them a total of 13 matches, winning three, drawing three, and losing seven games.[69] Both countries have been described as "punching above their weight"; with Greece winningEuro 2004 despite being classified as underdogs before the competition, and Turkey followed-up theirWorld Cup semi-final appearance in 2002 by advancing to the semi-finals ofEuro 2008, where they were knocked out byGermany. The relationship with Turkey is very intense overall. It is fueled by a dispute between the two countries, the dispute overCyprus, and several incidents occurring during matches between Turkish and Greek clubs, it has been described as one of the most intense international football rivalries.[70]
Greece has also developed a rivalry withRomania, due to the number of times they have met in their history, with 36 matches being played across all competitions, including friendlies. Greece has won 8 matches and Romania has won 18 matches, with 10 matches between them ending in a draw.
The following table lists all assigned football managers for the national team and their records since Greece's first international game in April 1929.
These are Greece's results in the major competition that they have participated in. The results in the main tournament have been listed directly in the total column.
Greece's history in theFIFA World Ranking. The table shows the position that Greece held in December of each year (and the current position as of 2024), as well as the highest and lowest positions annually.
The game against Great Britain's Olympic Team (1952) was recognized as an official game of the Greece National Team by the Hellenic Football Federation.
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