Paraguay showcased their dominance over Greece in a friendly encounter held at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium this Friday. The match concluded with a narrow 1-0 victory for the South Americans, thanks to a decisive strike from midfielder Diego Gómez just six minutes into the second half.
Gómez, who was undoubtedly the star of the match, delivered a stunning free kick that caught the Greek goalkeeper off-guard, sealing the win for Paraguay.
Defensively, Paraguay was solid, with Víctor Velázquez making significant contributions to ensure Greece trouble struggled to find the back of the net.
The Greek national team, led by head coach Ivan Jovanovic, lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with Odysseas Vlachodimos in goal. The defense consisted of Konstantinos Mavropanos, Lazaros Rota, Pantelis Hatzidiakos, and Dimitrios Giannoulis, while Dimitrios Kourbelis, Christos Mouzakitis, Christos Tzolis, Anastasios Bakasetas, and Konstantinos Karetsas operated in midfield, supporting the lone striker Anastasios Douvikas.
Meanwhile, Paraguay, under the guidance of Gustavo Alfaro, settled into a 4-4-2 formation, with Gastón Olveira guarding the goal. The backline included Alan Benítez, Gustavo Gómez, Omar Alderete, and Júnior Alonso. In midfield, Diego Gómez was joined by Damián Bobadilla, Lucas Romero, and Miguel Ángel Almirón, while Antonio Sanabria and Julio Enciso led the attack.
The match was officiated by referee Daniele Chiffi.
Substitutions for Greece
62’ – Konstantinos Karetsas was replaced by Giannis Konstantelias
75’ – Dimitrios Giannoulis was substituted for Kostas Tsimikas, while Christos Mouzakitis and Lazaros Rota were replaced by Christos Zafeiris and Georgios Vagiannidis respectively
83’ – Konstantinos Mavropanos exited for Panagiotis Retsos
85’ – Anastasios Douvikas was replaced by Vangelis Pavlidis
Bookings for Greece:
Andreas Tetteh – 78’ (Unsporting behavior)
Giannis Konstantelias – 86’ (Unsporting behavior)
Substitutions for Paraguay
60’ – Omar Alderete came off for Matías Galarza Fonda, and Damián Bobadilla was substituted for José Canale
61’ – Diego Gómez was replaced by Maurício Magalhães, while Anastasios Bakasetas, Dimitrios Kourbelis, and Christos Tzolis were substituted for Giorgos Masouras, Nectarios Triantis, and Andreas Tetteh respectively
68’ – Julio Enciso was replaced by Gustavo Caballero, and Miguel Ángel Almirón exited for Ramón Sosa
78’ – Antonio Sanabria was substituted by Alex Arce, while Júnior Alonso was replaced by Alexandro Maidana
79’ – Lucas Romero was substituted for Braian Ojeda
92’ – Alan Benítez came off for Víctor Velázquez