World Cup Qualification 2026: Greece-Belarus, the likely lineups
Friday, Sept. 5, the curtain rises on Group C of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers as far as the European zone is concerned. The four-team group features Greece, Scotland, Belarus and Denmark, with the Hellenic national team and that of the’former Soviet republic ready to vie for the first points at 8:45 p.m. Italian time at the ‘Georgios Karaisaskis’ stadium, the Piraeus’Piraeus facility that normally hosts Olympiacos’home matches.
Coached by Serbia’s Ivan Jovanovic, Greece is aiming for its first World Cup qualification since 2014, when it topped the group with Colombia, Ivory Coast and Japan in Brazil only to stop in the round of 16 at the hands of Costa Rica, which won on penalties. On the field, the special watcher is striker Fotis Ioannidis, on whom Sporting Lisbon has bet for the post-Gyokeres.
Belarus, for its part, wants to play its chances for what would be a historic first qualification to a major tournament, although insiders consider the national team led by Spaniard Carlos Alós the weakest in the group.
To try to subvert the odds will be another striker committed to the Portuguese league, Trofim Melnichenko of Porto, among others.
Probable lineups
GREECE (4-2-3-1): Tzolakis; Rota, Mavropanos, Hatzidiakos, Tsimikas; Siopis, Mouzakitis; Masouras, Bakasetas, Pelkas; Ioannidis. C.t. Jovanovic.
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BIELORUSSIA (5-3-2): Lapoukhov; Pigas, Martynovich, Parkhomenko, Zabelin, Pechenin; Gromyko, Yablonski, Ebong; Korzun, Melnichenko. C.t. Alós.
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