Greece – Belarus

The hosts of the field will convincingly begin the selection for the world championship

The Greece national team experienced a heavy disappointment a year and a half ago. During the playoff matches in March for the right to compete in Euro 2024, the Greek team managed to crush Kazakhstan 5-0 in the semi-finals, but things did not go well for them in the final match. In a balanced contest, the Georgians brought the match to a penalty shootout where they scored one more successful shot. Later, the Georgians shone at the continental championship, while the Greeks were preparing for the Nations League and forming a team for the World Cup qualifiers starting this year. Belarus, as before, remains on the list of the weakest national teams in Europe. Recently, teams from this country completed the qualification for European club tournaments and will not be represented in the overall stages of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. The level of national teams does not always correlate with the level of clubs competing in national championships, but the situation is indeed like that with Belarusian football. Bookmakers have made the home team the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.19 for their victory. After the disappointment described above, Greece performed quite well in the 2024/2025 Nations League. So well, in fact, that they finished in League B on equal points with England, losing out on additional factors. The only points dropped by Greece were at home in the match against the English, which ended 0-3. However, at Wembley, the Greek footballers created a continental-scale sensation by managing to beat England in front of 79,000 fans in the stands. In the play-off matches for the right to compete in League A of the next Nations League, Greece lost at home to Scotland 0-1, but convincingly rehabilitated themselves in Glasgow with a score of 3-0. Belarus participated in last year's Nations League in League C and nearly left the third-tier division of Europe. In six tournament matches, the Belarusians managed to win only once, against the tiny Luxembourg. In the other group stage matches, including against the Bulgarians and Northern Irish, the Belarusian team garnered at most one point. Against such opponents, the Belarusian squad scored just three goals in six matches. Most likely, the guests will not be able to compete with the rejuvenated Greeks.