Greece announce final Fifa World Cup squad
Celtic striker Georgios Samaras and Liverpool defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos have been included in the Greece squad for the World Cup finals.
Veteran coach Otto Rehhagel – who was in charge when the Greeks sensationally won Euro 2004 – dropped Grigoris Makos and Giorgos Tzavelas from his provisional squad, but has included defenders Christos Patsatzoglou and Giorgos Seitaridis despite fears over injury.
Italian-based pair Vangelis Moras and Sokratis Papastathopoulos have been included, as have Euro 2004 goalscoring hero Angelos Charisteas and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Theofanis Gekas, the top scorer in European qualifying with 10 goals.
The Greeks will face South Korea, Argentina and Nigeria in Group B of the finals, starting against the Koreans in Port Elizabeth on June 12th.
Greece’s final squad for the Fifa World Cup:
Goalkeepers: Michalis Sifakis (Aris Salonika), Alexandros Tzorvas (Panathinaikos), Kostas Chalkias (PAOK Salonika)
Defenders: Giorgos Seitaridis (Panathinaikos), Loukas Vintra (Panathinaikos), Evangelos Moras (Bologna), Socrates Papastathopoulos (Genoa), Sotiris Kyrgiakos (Liverpool), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), Vasilis Torosidis (Olympiakos), Nikos Spiropoulos (Panathinaikos), Stelios Malezas (PAOK Salonika)
Midfielders: Kostas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos), Alexandros Tziolis (Siena), Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos), Christos Patsatzoglou (Omonia), Sakis Prittas (Aris Salonika)
Forwards: Angelos Charisteas (Nuremberg), Dimitris Salpigidis (Panathinaikos), Pantelis Kapetanos (Steaua Bucharest), Theofanis Gekas (Hertha Berlin), Giorgos Samaras (Celtic).
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