Greece’s calamitous collapse has been one of the most dramatic narratives of Euro 2016 qualifying, with the side that made it to the knockout stages of last summer’s World Cup sat rock bottom of one of the weakest groups -- yes, even below the Faroe Islands, who just beat the Greeks for the second time. The big benefactors look like Northern Ireland and Romania, with the duo sat joint-top with four rounds remaining.
While you’re celebrating Greece’s downfall, even duller teams are replacing them
Maybe Greece’s dismal Euro 2016 qualifying campaign isn’t so good for the neutral after all.
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Greece's decline has combined with the expansion of the tournament to 24 teams to mean that both sides are in pole position to make the tournament -- for the first time ever in Northern Ireland's case. However, while this has added some juicy narrative to the arduous months of qualification, Saturday's goalless match between the two sides at Windsor Park won't have anyone else concerned by the prospect of meeting them in France next summer.
It was a predictably tight game, with neither side able to assert themselves on their opponent. But while fine margins are sometimes the mark of high-class football, on this occasion it was an overall lack of quality and attacking inspiration that contributed to the stalemate. Inaccurate passing and wild shooting contributed to plenty of turnovers in midfield, and goalscoring chances were few and far between.
Momentary flashes of excitement were produced by the once optimistically-styled ‘Romanian Messi,‘ Gabriel Torje, though his end product didn’t match the flashy build-up, and Northern Ireland escaped unscathed. At the other end, Kyle Lafferty worked admirably hard in his role as the hosts’ target man, but industry is rarely a match for quality.
Of course, the spectacle wasn’t helped by both sides probably having settled for a draw even before a ball had been kicked, nor by the injury problems that dogged the visitors in particular -- they were without captain Răzvan Raț, goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon, and other first-team regulars Ciprian Marica, Lucian Sânmărtean and Florin Gardoș. But there’s no escaping the fact that it was a poor game.
Ever since their remarkable -- and remarkably dour -- tournament victory at Euro 2004, Greece have earned a reputation as a miserable team to watch. Otto Rehhagel established a defence-first style of football that no one since has tried to change. But as their performances under Fernando Santos at Euro 2012 and last year's World Cup showed -- at which they both made the knockout stages -- they've invariably been competitive, however boring along the way.
Unfortunately, if this performance is anything to go by, we won’t be able to say the same about either Northern Ireland nor Romania if they make it to France. Perhaps Greece’s decline isn’t so good for the neutral after all.
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