Greece to face Croatia in World Cup play-offs
Greece will have to overcome the obstacle of Croatia if it is to qualify to its third consecutive World Cup, as the draw that took place on Tuesday afternoon in Zurich saw the Greek national team avoid Italy, that will face Sweden.
The first game between Greece and Croatia will take place in Croatia on November 9-11, and the return in Piraeus three days later.
“We are happy to reach these matches. Now we are looking to Croatia. They are a tough team who are doing well. They are offensive but we are good defensively,” Greece's German coach Michael Skibbe said after the draw.
Croatia is a far more experienced side than Greece, featuring the likes of Luka Modric and Mario Mandjukic, but the Greek team tends to fare better when facing an opponent who prefers to attack than to defend, such as Croatia.
In the past Greece has twice engaged in home-and-away qualification play-offs and in both cases (against Ukraine and Romania) it managed to qualify.
