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Greece national under-21 football team

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Greece Under-21
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Εθνική Ελπίδων
("National team of Hopes")
AssociationHellenic Football Federation
Head coachGiannis Taousianis
CaptainKonstantinos Tzolakis
Most capsGiorgos Karagounis (39)
Top scorerNikos Liberopoulos &
Lampros Choutos (15)
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
Biggest win
Greece Greece 6–0 Luxembourg Luxembourg
(Greece; 1993)
Greece Greece 6–0 Latvia Latvia
(Greece; 1999)
Biggest defeat
Hungary Hungary 7–0 Greece Greece
(Hungary; 1976)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances4 (first in 1988)
Best resultRunners-up, 1988, 1998
Greece U-21 team on 5 September 2011

The Greece national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Greece and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years.

The under-21 competition rules stipulate that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, so technically it is up to an U-23 competition. To be eligible for the Greece National Team, all the football players must hold Hellenic (Greek) nationality and comply with the provisions of Article 15 of the regulations governing the Application of FIFA Statutes. A list of 35 football players must be submitted to the UEFA administration 30 days before the European Under-21 Football Championship opening match. Only 22 of the 35 players listed are authorised to take part in the final tournament and 3 of them must be goalkeepers.

As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U-21s, senior side and again for the U-21s, as Sotiris Ninis has done recently. It is also possible to play more than one country at youth level or different at youth level and different at senior level (provided the player is eligible). But a football player can represent only the senior national team that capped him first.

Also in existence are national teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under-17s. Greece also has a women's national team.

History

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The first time that Greece's national team of hopes were formed was in 1968, with the aim of participating in the first Balkan Youth Championship that took place at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki.

In their maiden match she played with the corresponding team in Turkey; the match ended in a goalless draw.

The first eleven were the following: Tourkomenis, B. Intzoglou (59' Dimitriou), Chaliambalias, Kyriazis, Athanasopoulos, Karafeskos, Filakouris, Sarafis (46' Stoligas), K. Papaioannou, Koudas, Kritikopoulos (70' Alexiadis).

In the following years, Greece won twice the Balkan Youth Championship (1969 and 1971), and they fought twice (1988 and 1998) in the final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Competition Record

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As of 23 September 2022

Competition Pld W D L
UEFA U-23 Championship 14 6 0 8
UEFA U-21 Championship 212 100 35 77

UEFA European U23 Championship record

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UEFA European U21 Championship record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD Pld W D L GF GA GD
1972 Semi-finals 3rd/4th 4 2 0 2 7 5 +2 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3
1974 Did not qualify 4 1 0 3 4 7 −3
1976 4 1 0 3 4 9 −5
Total 0 titles 1/3 4 2 0 2 7 5 +2 10 4 0 6 11 16 −5

UEFA European U21 Championship record

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UEFA European U21 Championship record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD Pld W D L GF GA GD
1978 Did not qualify 4 0 1 3 1 13 −12
1980 4 2 0 2 5 6 −1
1982 4 0 1 3 2 7 −5
1984 6 3 2 1 6 4 +2
1986 4 2 0 2 6 8 −2
1988 Final Runners-up 6 1 3 2 8 8 0 6 4 1 1 15 5 +10
1990 Did not qualify 6 1 1 4 3 11 −8
1992 6 1 1 4 6 13 −7
France 1994 Quarter-finals 6th 2 0 1 1 2 4 −2 8 6 2 0 23 6 +17
Spain 1996 Did not qualify 8 3 0 5 12 12 0
Romania 1998 Final Runners-up 3 2 0 1 4 1 +3 10 6 1 3 16 11 +5
Slovakia 2000 Did not qualify 12 8 2 2 33 13 +20
Switzerland 2002 Group stage 8th 3 0 1 2 3 6 −3 10 6 1 3 18 8 +10
Germany 2004 Did not qualify 8 3 3 2 10 7 +3
Portugal 2006 12 6 2 4 18 9 +9
Netherlands 2007 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3
Sweden 2009 10 5 3 2 20 13 +7
Denmark 2011 10 6 1 3 13 12 +1
Israel 2013 10 4 1 5 14 15 −1
Czech Republic 2015 8 5 0 3 20 10 +10
Poland 2017 10 4 1 5 13 14 −1
ItalySan Marino 2019 12 8 1 3 26 7 +19
HungarySlovenia 2021 10 5 1 4 10 11 −1
RomaniaGeorgia (country) 2023 10 5 2 3 16 10 +6
Slovakia 2025 In progress 8 4 2 2 10 7 +3
Total 0 titles 4/24 14 3 5 6 17 19 −2 198 97 30 71 319 236 +83

Honours

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Winners (2): 1969, 1971
Third place (2):, 2015, 2018

Results and schedule

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The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2023

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16 November 2023 (2023-11-16) 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification Group G Greece  3–0  Faroe Islands Tripoli, Greece
15:00 (16:00 EEST)
Report Stadium: Theodoros Kolokotronis Stadium
Attendance: 250
Referee: Mervan Bejtullahu (Kosovo)
21 November 2023 (2023-11-21) 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification Group G Greece  2–1  Portugal Tripoli, Greece
15:00 (16:00 EEST)
Report Stadium: Theodoros Kolokotronis Stadium
Attendance: 500
Referee: Nikola Popov (Bulgaria)

2024

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22 March 2024 (2024-03-22) 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification Group G Belarus  1–0  Greece Armavir, Armenia
15:30 (13:30 EEST)
Report Stadium: Armavir City Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Marian Barbu (Romania)
26 March 2024 (2024-03-26) 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification Group G Greece  1–0  Andorra Tripoli, Greece
16:00
Report Stadium: Theodoros Kolokotronis Stadium
Attendance: 651
Referee: Luka Bilbija (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
10 September 2024 (2024-09-10) 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification Group G Faroe Islands  0–4  Greece Klaksvík, Faroe Islands
17:30 (19:30 EEST) Report Stadium: Við Djúpumýrar
Attendance: 253
Referee: Jasper Vergoote (Belgium)
11 October 2024 (2024-10-11) Friendly Slovakia  2–1  Greece Nitra, Slovakia
15:30 (16:30 EEST)
Report Stadium: Štadión pod Zoborom
Referee: Balázs Berke (Hungary)
15 October 2024 (2024-10-15) 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification Group G Croatia  3–2  Greece Koprivnica, Croatia
18:00 (19:00 EEST) Report
Stadium: Ivan Kušek-Apaš City Stadium
Referee: Sandi Putros (Denmark)

Euro 2025 Under-21 Championship qualification

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2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 10 9 0 1 33 6 +27 27 Final tournament 5–1 2–0 4–0 6–1 3–0
2  Croatia 10 7 1 2 20 14 +6 22 Play-offs 0–2 3–2 2–1 2–0 2–0
3  Greece 10 5 2 3 16 10 +6 17 2–1 2–2 3–0 1–1 1–0
4  Faroe Islands 10 3 1 6 11 24 −13 10 1–3 2–4 0–4 1–0 2–2
5  Belarus 10 1 3 6 6 20 −14 6 0–5 0–1 1–0 2–3 0–0
6  Andorra 10 0 3 7 4 16 −12 3 1–2 0–3 0–1 0–1 1–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Coaching staff

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Managers

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The following table provides a summary of the complete record of each Greece team manager including their results regarding European Under-21 Championship.

Giannis Goumas was the most recent U-21 Greece national team manager
Key: Pld–games played, W–games won, D–games drawn; L–games lost, %–win percentage
Manager Greece tenure Pld W D L Win % Major competitions
Greece Stelios Aposporis 2004–2007 18 9 1 8 050.0 2006 European Championship – Failed to qualify
2007 European Championship – Failed to qualify
Greece Nikos Nioplias 2007–2009 19 9 5 5 047.4 2009 European Championship – Failed to qualify
Greece Georgios Georgiadis 2010–2012 19 10 2 7 052.6 2011 European Championship – Play-offs
2013 European Championship – Failed to qualify
Greece Kostas Tsanas 2012–2015 18 9 2 7 050.0 2015 European Championship – Failed to qualify
Greece Michalis Iordanidis 2015 1 1 0 0 100.0
Greece Antonis Nikopolidis 2015–2019 33 16 5 12 048.5 2017 European Championship – Failed to qualify
2019 European Championship – Play-offs
Greece Giannis Goumas 2019–2021 12 4 2 6 033.3 2021 European Championship – Failed to qualify
Greece Georgios Simos 2021–2022 10 5 2 3 050.0 2023 European Championship – Failed to qualify
Greece Nikos Papadopoulos 2022–2024 10 5 2 3 050.0
Greece Giannis Taousianis 2024– 0 0 0 0 !
Totals

Last updated: 27 August 2024. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Players

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Current squad

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As of 15 October 2024

The following 26 players were called for the friendly match against  Slovakia on 11 October and the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against  Croatia on 15 October 2024.[1]

Names in italics denote players who have been capped for the senior team.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Konstantinos Balomenos (2002-03-11) 11 March 2002 (age 22) 6 0 Greece PAOK
12 1GK Nikos Grammatikakis (2003-05-26) 26 May 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Greece Asteras Tripolis
1GK Angelos Angelopoulos (2003-02-19) 19 February 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Greece AEK

2 2DF Athanasios Koutsogoulas (2004-04-03) 3 April 2004 (age 20) 4 0 Greece Panserraikos
3 2DF Fotis Kitsos (2003-03-31) 31 March 2003 (age 21) 16 0 Cyprus Omonia
4 2DF Ilias Kostis (2003-02-27) 27 February 2003 (age 21) 8 2 Spain Atlético Madrid B
5 2DF Apostolos Konstantopoulos (captain) (2002-08-02) 2 August 2002 (age 22) 15 0 Belgium Beerschot
20 2DF Alexis Kalogeropoulos (2004-07-26) 26 July 2004 (age 20) 2 0 Greece Volos
22 2DF Lefteris Tasiouras (2004-03-01) 1 March 2004 (age 20) 1 0 Greece PAOK B
23 2DF Apostolos Apostolopoulos (2002-12-11) 11 December 2002 (age 21) 7 0 Greece Olympiacos
2DF Panagiotis Panagiotou (2002-01-16) 16 January 2002 (age 22) 9 0 Cyprus Ethnikos Achna
2DF Isidoros Koutsidis (2004-12-23) 23 December 2004 (age 19) 0 0 Greece Olympiacos

8 3MF Christos Kourfalidis (2002-11-11) 11 November 2002 (age 21) 15 2 Italy Cosenza
11 3MF Dimitrios Metaxas (2003-12-16) 16 December 2003 (age 20) 13 0 Finland AC Oulu
14 3MF Christos Mouzakitis (2006-12-25) 25 December 2006 (age 17) 4 0 Greece Olympiacos
18 3MF Theofanis Bakoulas (2005-01-04) 4 January 2005 (age 19) 4 1 Greece Olympiacos
21 3MF Argyris Darelas (2003-10-16) 16 October 2003 (age 21) 10 0 Netherlands NEC Nijmegen
3MF Giannis Apostolakis (2004-09-24) 24 September 2004 (age 20) 3 0 Greece OFI
3MF Sotiris Kontouris (2005-02-24) 24 February 2005 (age 19) 0 0 Greece Panetolikos

6 4FW Nikos Zouglis (2003-11-14) 14 November 2003 (age 20) 11 1 Greece Asteras Tripolis
7 4FW Stefanos Tzimas (2006-01-06) 6 January 2006 (age 18) 6 0 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg
9 4FW Giannis Niarchos (2002-06-26) 26 June 2002 (age 22) 11 2 Slovakia Košice
10 4FW Georgios Koutsias (2004-02-08) 8 February 2004 (age 20) 16 5 United States Chicago Fire
17 4FW Christos Belevonis (2002-07-29) 29 July 2002 (age 22) 7 0 Greece Panetolikos
19 4FW Charalampos Kostoulas (2007-05-30) 30 May 2007 (age 17) 2 2 Greece Olympiacos
4FW Dimitris Kaloskamis (2005-03-01) 1 March 2005 (age 19) 3 0 Greece Atromitos

Recent call-ups

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Following are listed players called up in the previous twelve months who are still eligible to represent the under-21 team.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Fotis Sgouris (2002-04-29) 29 April 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Greece Asteras Tripolis v. Faroe Islands, 10 September 2024
GK Konstantinos Tzolakis (2002-11-08) 8 November 2002 (age 21) 21 0 Greece Olympiacos v. Andorra, 26 March 2024

DF Konstantinos Chrysopoulos (2003-05-21) 21 May 2003 (age 21) 4 0 Cyprus Anorthosis v. Faroe Islands, 10 September 2024
DF Nikolaos Kanellopoulos (2003-01-10) 10 January 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Greece AEK B v. Andorra, 26 March 2024

MF Christos Kryparakos (2003-06-12) 12 June 2003 (age 21) 10 0 Greece Niki Volos v. Andorra, 26 March 2024
MF Athanasios Karamanis (2003-10-14) 14 October 2003 (age 21) 2 0 Greece Atromitos v. Andorra, 26 March 2024
MF Titos Koutentakis (2003-08-22) 22 August 2003 (age 21) 2 0 Greece OFI v. Andorra, 26 March 2024
MF Vasilios Sourlis (2002-11-16) 16 November 2002 (age 21) 18 3 Poland Raków Częstochowa v. Andorra, 26 March 2024
MF Thomas Karaberis (2002-01-29) 29 January 2002 (age 22) 5 0 Cyprus Doxa Katokopias v. Portugal, 21 November 2023
MF Christos Liatsos (2003-09-01) 1 September 2003 (age 21) 2 0 Greece Chania v. Portugal, 21 November 2023
MF Dimitrios Tsopouroglou (2002-06-21) 21 June 2002 (age 22) 2 0 Greece PAOK B v. Portugal, 21 November 2023

FW Michalis Panagidis (2004-02-11) 11 February 2004 (age 20) 4 1 Greece Aris Thessaloniki v. Faroe Islands, 10 September 2024
FW Michalis Kosidis (2002-02-09) 9 February 2002 (age 22) 10 2 Poland Puszcza Niepołomice v. Andorra, 26 March 2024
FW Marios Sofianos (2003-11-24) 24 November 2003 (age 20) 3 0 Greece Panserraikos v. Andorra, 26 March 2024
FW Christos Tzolis (2002-01-30) 30 January 2002 (age 22) 7 6 Belgium Club Brugge v. Portugal, 21 November 2023

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Included in preliminary roster

Player records

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Former squads

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Εθνική Ελπίδων: οι κλήσεις για Σλοβακία και Κροατία". epo.gr. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
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