Greece vs Spain

Spain travel to the Olympic Stadium of Athens “Spiros Louis” to take on Greece in a crunch 2022 World Cup Qualification Group B showdown.

After going unbeaten in their opening five 2022 World Cup qualifying fixtures (W2, D3), Greece succumbed to a 2-0 in Sweden last time out, which puts them in an awkward spot going into this matchday. Any hopes of leapfrogging second-placed Spain will hinge on Greece’s ability to snap a four-match winless H2H streak (D2, L2) as they currently trail the Spaniards by four points. That alone won’t be enough for the Greeks to reach their first World Cup finals since 2014, as it would also require Spain to fail to beat Sweden on the final matchday and Greece to overcome Kosovo at home. John van ‘t Schip’s side can draw inspiration from their impressive form on home soil as they head into proceedings unbeaten in their last ten home internationals (W6, D4).

As for Spain, a two-point deficit on top-placed Sweden means they can ill-afford a slip-up here if they are to secure automatic qualification for Qatar 2022. The Spaniards have racked up back-to-back Group B wins over Georgia and Kosovo by an aggregate score of 6-0 after going down 2-1 in Sweden and are now keen to make it three triumphs in a row. Such prospect looks very probable, with ‘La Furia Roja’ winning both previous visits to Greece despite conceding at least once on each occasion. Though they come into this fixture on the back of a heartbreaking UEFA Nations League grand final defeat to France, Spain will be looking to build on a performance that saw them bring Italy’s historic 37-match undefeated run to a halt in the competition’s semi-finals.