Greece will face Finland at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus on Saturday for the opening matchday of the new UEFA Nations League campaign. This match marks Greece's first appearance in League B, having earned promotion from the third tier in 2022. The national team is embarking on a new chapter after another disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, where they were defeated by Georgia, a team that had never before qualified for a major tournament. Ivan Jovanovic has taken over as the new manager, replacing Gus Poyet, with the aim of breaking Greece’s cycle of failed qualifications, which has persisted since 2014. Greece’s decline in recent years is reflected in the fact that this is their first opportunity to compete in the second tier of the Nations League, having struggled to progress out of League C. In 2018, they finished behind Finland and Hungary, and in 2020, they fell short again, losing out to Slovenia. However, they finally topped a group that included Kosovo, Northern Ireland, and Cyprus in the last edition.

The current state of the Greek national team has drawn comparisons to the early 2000s, when Otto Rehhagel took over a struggling squad in 2001 and led them to European Championship glory three years later. While such an achievement seems unlikely today, Olympiacos’ recent success in the Conference League could inspire a resurgence in Greek football. Several players from the club are part of the current national setup, which could help energize the team. However, Greece faces a tough challenge in their Nations League group, which includes England. Finland, who earned promotion to League B in 2018 after finishing above Greece, have consistently competed at this level and will aim to continue doing so. Though Finland’s overall expectations remain modest, they have been punching above their weight in recent years.

Finland’s strong showing in the previous Nations League secured them a Euro 2024 playoff spot, but their hopes of qualifying for back-to-back European Championships were dashed by a 4-1 defeat to Wales in Cardiff. Despite that setback, Finland have had a solid run of form in away matches, winning seven of their last 13 competitive games and keeping five clean sheets. In June, however, their defensive solidity was tested in a 4-2 loss to Portugal and a 2-2 draw with Scotland. Greece, on the other hand, have been inconsistent, though they picked up a recent win over New Zealand, which offers a glimmer of hope as they adjust to life under new management. Konstantinos Tzolakis is likely to replace Odysseas Vlachodimos as Greece’s starting goalkeeper, given Vlachodimos’ struggles for playing time at Newcastle United since his summer transfer. Meanwhile, Dimitris Kourbelis has been dropped following his move to Saudi Arabia, but Vangelis Pavlidis, now with Benfica, could be poised for a breakout season after a successful spell at AZ Alkmaar.

Finland also face some challenges heading into the match, with Lech Poznan’s Daniel Hakans ruled out after scoring four goals in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. Striker Marcus Forss remains sidelined due to injury, so veteran forward Teemu Pukki will lead Finland’s attack as he earns his 123rd cap. Robert Taylor, who opted to stay with Inter Miami instead of joining the national team earlier this year, has been left out of the squad despite his club having no matches this weekend. Finland’s lineup is expected to feature Hradecky in goal and Pukki leading the attack, while Greece’s starting XI will likely include Tzolakis in goal, supported by a backline of Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, and Tsimikas, with Pelkas, Bakasetas, and Mantalos in midfield.

I expect that the hosts will commence new era with the new coach and grab a victory!

本周六，希腊将在比雷埃夫斯的乔治斯·卡拉斯卡基斯体育场迎战芬兰队，这是新一届欧足联国家联赛的开幕比赛日。这场比赛是希腊自2022年从乙级联赛升级后首次参加乙级联赛。在经历了另一场令人失望的2024年欧洲杯预选赛之后，国家队开始了新的篇章。他们在预选赛中被格鲁吉亚击败，这支球队此前从未获得过参加重大赛事的资格。伊万·约万诺维奇(Ivan Jovanovic)接替格斯·波耶特(Gus Poyet)成为新任主帅，目的是打破希腊自2014年以来一直未能晋级的恶性循环。希腊近年来的衰落反映在这样一个事实上:这是他们第一次有机会参加国家联赛第二梯队的比赛，他们在c联赛中挣扎着晋级。2018年，他们落后于芬兰和匈牙利，2020年，他们再次落后，输给了斯洛文尼亚。然而，在上一版中，他们最终在包括科索沃、北爱尔兰和塞浦路斯在内的小组中名列前茅。

希腊国家队目前的状态让人想起了21世纪初的情况。2001年，奥托·雷哈格尔(Otto Rehhagel)接手了一支处境艰难的球队，并在三年后带领他们夺得了欧洲杯冠军。虽然这样的成就在今天看来不太可能，但奥林匹亚科斯最近在联赛中的成功可能会激发希腊足球的复兴。俱乐部的几名球员是目前国家队阵容的一部分，这可以帮助球队充满活力。然而，希腊在包括英格兰在内的国家联盟小组中面临着严峻的挑战。芬兰队在2018年以高于希腊的成绩晋级乙级联赛，一直在这个级别比赛，并将继续保持这种状态。尽管芬兰的总体期望仍然不高，但近年来他们的表现已经超出了自己的能力。

芬兰队在上一届国家联赛中的出色表现让他们获得了2024年欧洲杯的决赛席位，但他们在加的夫以4比1不敌威尔士队，从而破灭了背对背晋级欧洲杯的希望。尽管遭遇挫折，芬兰队在客场比赛中保持了稳定的状态，在过去的13场比赛中取得了7场胜利，并且保持了5场零封。然而，在6月，他们的防守稳定性在4-2负于葡萄牙和2-2战平苏格兰的比赛中受到了考验。另一方面，希腊的表现一直不稳定，尽管他们最近赢了新西兰队，这给他们在新教练的带领下适应生活带来了一线希望。康斯坦丁诺斯·佐拉基斯很可能取代奥德海斯·弗拉乔迪莫斯成为希腊的首发门将，因为弗拉乔迪莫斯自从夏天转会以来一直在纽卡斯尔争取上场时间。与此同时，迪米特里斯·库贝利斯在转会到沙特阿拉伯后被裁掉了，但是现在效力于本菲卡的帕夫利迪斯在阿尔克马尔的一段成功的时间后，可能会迎来一个突破性的赛季。

芬兰队在比赛前也面临着一些挑战，莱赫·波兹南队的丹尼尔·哈坎斯在2024年欧洲杯预选赛中打进4球后被排除在外。前锋马库斯·福斯因伤缺阵，因此老将特姆·普基将带领芬兰队进攻，这是他第123次代表国家队出场。罗伯特·泰勒今年早些时候选择留在国际迈阿密，而不是加入国家队，尽管他的俱乐部本周末没有比赛，但他还是被排除在了大名单之外。芬兰队的首发阵容预计将以赫拉德基为门将，普基为进攻主力，而希腊队的首发阵容可能包括佐拉基斯为门将，罗塔、马夫罗帕诺斯、库利拉基斯和齐米卡斯为后防线，佩尔卡斯、巴卡塞塔斯和曼塔洛斯为中场。

我期待东道主在新教练的带领下开启新时代，夺取胜利!