THE PAST
When it comes to the Greek’s FIFA World Cup history let’s just say it isn’t as renowned as the nations, well, regular history. Greece has only made the World Cup final tournament once in existence and that Cup in the USA in 1994 ended in a complete embarrassment. The Greeks were bounced from the Cup after suffering three consecutive losses and they never scored a goal over that span. Even worse they allowed ten goals in the three matches. But in 2004 the club shocked the world when they won the Euro Cup against all odds. Some lines that tournament had Greece around 150 to 1 to win. Now that is a big payoff!
THE PRESENT
Greece finished in second place in their table this WCQ behind Switzerland, but the club was able to narrowly fend off Israel and Latvia for that respected position. The Greeks then faced Uruaguay in a critical playoff draw for a spot in the FIFA final. After drawing the tough European squad at home 1-1, Greece pulled off a shocker on the road 1-0 to take the aggregate victory 2-1. The Greek team has plenty of high quality experienced players, but few superstars on the roster. Although the club lacks any real big names they do have plenty of players able to achieve memorable results. Theofanis Gekas led all of Europe in goals this recent WCQ. The forward scored 10 goals over the 10 match span.
THE PREDICTION
Greece is right around where they want to be in the betting line right now. The squad is on average a 125 to 1 chance of winning the Cup, but that line was probably reduced slightly due to that successful campaign in Euro 2004. The truth is that Greece is one of the more underrated clubs in the tournament. Although the nation has never won a World Cup match they do have solid depth and many outstanding players that are featured in their domestic league. Nigeria has a better betting line right now, but I think Greece will finally advance to the second round of the event. It is a bit of a long shot, but this will be their year.
