GREECE
Coach:
Fernando
Santos
Road to Brazil: Nr.2 i Europegr.G, Beat Romania in play-off. (4-2)
Honours: None in the WC.
European Champions 2004.
WC-app.: 3 (Incl.this) First WC: 1994 Association: www.epo.gr
Greece had only
participated twice
in the final
tournaments of the
World Cup and the
UEFA European
Championship, in
1994 and 1980
respectively, until
UEFA Euro 2004, when
they became European
champions in only
their second
participation in the
tournament. The
Greeks, dismissed as
rank outsiders
before the
tournament with
bookmakers giving
odds of between 80–1
to 150–1 for them to
win, defeated some
of the favourites in
the competition
including defending
champions France and
hosts Portugal, who
Greece beat in both
the opening game of
the tournament and
again in the final.
Since that victory
Greece have
qualified for the
finals of all but
one major
competitions
(European
Championships and
World Cups),
reaching the
quarter-finals of
Euro 2012. Moreover,
they have occupied a
place in the top 20
of the FIFA World
Rankings for all but
four months since
the 2004 triumph,
and reached a high
of eighth from April
to June 2008, as
well as in October
2011.
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English football