KARAGOUNIS CONFIDENT

Giorgos Karagounis has said that he is extremely confident that the Greeks national team will be able to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as the group winners. Giorgos Karagounis recently saw the Greece team suffered the first dropped points of the campaign in the match against Bosnia. As a result of this draw coupled with the win for Slovakia has meant that they have been able to move level on points with Greece. Despite this, Giorgos Karagounis is feeling confident ahead of the match with Slovakia, which could go a long way to determine the outcome of the group winner.

Slovakia came into this encounter at the back of the 2-1 win over Latvia, but it did come at a price after they lost two crucial players like Martin Skrtel and Vladimir Weiss. It is highly unlikely that both players will be available for this match. The coach Michal Hipp, though, has expressed his confidence that they will be able to maintain form against Greece as well. Fernando Santos has been extremely well with the national team this season after he had currently in a position where they can comfortably qualify for the World Cup if they maintain their current form.

“We wanted to win (in Bosnia), but even with the draw we remain at the top with the other two strongest teams in the group. The match with Slovakia will be difficult but we will play to win. Our goal in every match is to win. We have confidence and know we can beat any opponent. We managed to do well in Greece. I think we also have a great chance at home of beating Lithuania, but we have to be careful,” said the Greece midfielder Giorgos Karagounis ahead of the match. Greece will face against the Republic of Ireland in a friendly next match.