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This meeting, taking place at the Algarve stadium, will start at the same time as the other Group A matches - 21:45. Russia, having lost all hope, will play against Greece, who will be aiming for a place in the quarterfinals. Greece will be satisfied with a draw in these matches, and they could achieve a historic feat - for the first time in a major tournament, they would reach the quarterfinals. However, Greece will not settle for a draw, especially knowing that winning would secure the top spot in the group. This would avoid a clash in the next stage with the European champion, France, if they win their group. Team strategist Otto Rehhagel will be missing two key players - Giannakopoulos, with a muscle strain, and Karagounis, who is suspended for a second yellow card. They should be replaced in the defensive line by Georgiadis and Tsartas, but the coach is more concerned that the players are focused enough: "Nothing has been won yet. Everyone thinks we are already in the next stage, but that is not true, nothing has been achieved yet." This was supported by forward Demis Nikolaidis: "Despite the fact that we only need a point, we will fight for victory in these matches. We cannot think about anything else." Meanwhile, Russia, having lost to Spain and Portugal and not scoring a single goal yet, will definitely finish last in the group. Russian coach Georgy Yartsev also had problems choosing the lineup, as goalkeeper Ovchinnikov and defender Smertin are suspended. Therefore, the team's goal should be protected by Vyacheslav Malafeev, who performed admirably in the previous matches, and Roman Sharonov, who received a red card in the first game against Spain, will return to defense. Although this match will not affect the Russians in the standings, the national team would like to repay the support of tens of thousands of fans who have come to cheer for their country's team with a good performance: "Now we play only for honor, but we will not be reproached for lack of effort in the match against Greece," assistant coach Alexander Borodyuk said to the fans on Friday. Possible starting lineups: Greece (4-4-2): Nikopolidis; Seitaridis, Dellas, Kapsis, Fyssas; Zagorakis, Katsouranis, Tsartas, Georgiadis; Vryzas, Charisteas. Russia (4-4-2): Malafeev; Anyukov, Sennikov, Sharonov, Bugayev; Alenichev, Loskov, Karyaka, Bystrov; Kerzhakov, Sychev.
