Rehhagel eyes 'great chance'

Draw enough
"Tomorrow is a great chance for the Greek team and Greek football," he said at the pre-match press conference. Greece, who top the group along with Spain on four points, need just a draw to secure their first appearance in the quarter-finals of a major tournament.

Focus needed
But Rehhagel insisted success would only come about if his men reached the same levels of concentration they had in their previous games when they beat Portugal 2-1 and drew 1-1 with Spain. "As with the matches against Portugal and Spain, we must be fully focused and display the same passion if we are to get the result we want," he said.

Maximum effort
"I told the players that I've played against the Russians several times and that they are very difficult to beat. Perhaps some people think we're already through to the second round but that's not the case. We have to give our maximum to beat them because the Russians are very good players."

'Big mistake'
Rehhagel pointed to the remarks made by Russia coach Georgi Yartsev, who pledged that his own team would be doing their utmost to win. "Let's not forget that my Russian counterpart said that if the Greeks think it will be a friendly match they'll be making a big mistake."

Pride in performance
Yet even if Greece fail on Sunday night, the 63-year-old coach said his men could still take pride in their achievements. "So far the team have performed very well and we will be very disappointed if we don't qualify. But even if we don't, we can still say we did very well."

Duo out
Greece will be without key midfield player Stylianos Giannakopoulos, who pulled a calf muscle in the match against Spain, and playmaker Giorgos Karagounis who is suspended. But the German coach is unfazed. "We have 23 players and if two of them can't play that should not be a problem. All the players have to prove why they are here," Rehhagel said.

Lakis chance
Rehhagel is expected to stick to his 4-4-2 formation even though the absence of the two aforementioned midfield players will force him to reshuffle the pack in the centre of the pitch. A likely scenario could see AEK Athens FC player Vassilios Lakis on the right and club colleague Vassilios Tsiartas on the left side of midfield.

Dellas worry
The coach should field the same defence even though there are still some concerns about the condition of central defender Traianos Dellas. The tall defender missed training yesterday because of a back problem but he should be ready to face the Russians after returning to action today. "He hasn't trained with the team but he wants to play very much and I hope he will be ready to play as he is vital to our defence," Rehhagel said.