Thursday Sep 29 2005 11:20
Greece coach Otto Rehhagel knows that his side must play to their full potential if they are to have any chance of beating France in their quarter-final clash at Lisbon's Jose Alvalade stadium.
The Greeks beat Portugal and drew with Spain in their first two Group A matches before slumping to a surprise defeat against Russia but still moved into the last eight at the expense of the Spaniards.
"Against Russia we were stressed because we knew that qualification depended on the result," admitted Rehhagel.
"We will enjoy the France match and even if we lose, my players will fall like heroes.
"There are always surprises in tournaments and this time it is us.
"We have to be fully concentrated as we are playing against the European champions.
"Some of the French players have also won the UEFA Champions League. They are exceptional in all areas and are in their prime. It's up to us to do the best we can and prove why we reached the quarter-finals."
Greece will be without the suspended Zisis Vryzas and Rehhagel is expected to partner Angelos Charisteas with Themistoklis Nikolaidis or Dimitrios Papadopoulos in attack.
Stylianos Giannakopoulos has a calf injury and is doubtful for the game but Georgios Karagounis returns after serving a one-match ban.
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