The opening game of Group C places group favorites Colombia against a stubborn and defensive minded Greek opposition. Greece has always been known to play a very defensive game because, well, it is pretty much the only thing that they are good at. The team has only netted two goals since November of last year, both of those coming in a recent tune-up against Bolivia.
Scoring is the Greek’s Achilles heel, as has been the case for some time. Konstantinos Mitroglou, who failed to impress after signing with Fulham for a whopping £12 million, is currently the Greek’s top option up front. The other option that the Greeks may use is veteran Fanis Gekas, though he is aging and is not close to the player he used to be. The Greek hopes rely on their ever-resounding defense, which in past tournaments has caused some problems for the opposition.
Colombia on the other hand plays some beautiful football, as they displayed throughout the World Cup qualifications. Despite not having Radamel Falcao out due to injury, Colombian soccer fans can find comfort in the fact that their team is one of the deepest, maybe within the entire tournament.
Carlos Bacca, Jackson Martinez and Teofilo Gutierrez are the main options on top and combined can all provide the intensity and creativity that they lost when Falcao went down. My key player to watch in this game is arguably Fiorentina’s best player Juan Cuadrado. He is the epitome of an old school winger that is a ruthless attacker with the ball. Look for him on the wings or through the middle, as he is sure to have a big impact on the game.
Though Greece bolsters a strong defense, I am expecting Colombia to control this game with their speed and intensity. The “Ethniki” will definitely put up a fight, as they so often do, but the quality of the Colombian team going forward will beat the stubbornness of the defense minded and aging Greeks.
My prediction: Colombia wins 2-0
Betting odds provided by Bovada.lv
Colombia: -1 (+170) Moneyline -125
Greece: +1 (-210) Moneyline +400
Draw +240
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