Greece vs Kazakhstan prediction 21.03.2024

• Competition: EURO 2024 Qualifiers, Playoffs Semi-Final
• Date: Thursday, 21st March 2024
• Kickoff: 19:45 UTC / 20:45 CET
• Venue: OPAP Arena (Athens)

The Semi-Finals of the Qualification Playoffs for EURO 2024 will see Greece hosting Kazakhstan at the OPAP Arena in Athens on Thursday evening.

Greece are looking for only its fifth appearance on the EURO and its first since 2012 in Austria and Ukraine. Generally, the Greece national team has not played their best football for a long time and hasn't appeared in any major tournament in a decade. They also competed in UEFA Nations League C three years in a row and finally managed to win their Group and advance to League B. In the EURO 2024 Qualifiers, they did fine, finishing 3^rd with 13 points in eight rounds. The teams that finished in front of them (France and Netherlands) are much better, and no one expected Greece to finish above them. So, securing the Qualification Playoffs can be considered a success.

Kazakhstan is striving to make their debut in a major tournament. The team has been steadily improving, a progress evidenced by their performance in the UEFA Nations League. After competing in League D during the 2018/19 season, they have managed two promotions within three years, landing them a spot in League B for the current season. Kazakhstan showed potential during the EURO Qualifiers, nearly securing direct promotion but unfortunately, they lost to Slovenia in the final round. They now have to focus on securing their historic EURO debut through the upcoming playoffs.

Greece vs Kazakhstan pick: Both teams to score

Greece is highly favored in this match, primarily due to their home ground advantage. They are one of those teams that perform significantly better at home, with their only loss in the last ten games being against the Netherlands. Their consistent scoring is commendable, and we have no doubts about their ability to score against Kazakhstan on their home turf.

Kazakhstan demonstrated excellent performance in the group stage of the EURO Qualifiers, managing to score a minimum of one goal in nine of their ten matches. This was achieved against strong teams such as Denmark, Finland, and Slovenia. Even when playing away, Kazakhstan’s performance matched their home games, with at least one goal scored in all five matches. Consequently, we predict they could score against Greece, a team known for its defensive-oriented play in crucial matches. However, we have doubts about Kazakhstan’s defense maintaining a clean sheet, especially considering their failure to do so against San Marino, the world’s lowest-ranking team.

Taking into account all the aforementioned factors, we believe that both teams scoring is a viable option for this match.