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Stratilatis sets sights on final fling

Greece's reserve goalkeeper Kyriakos Stratilatis is ready to help his country continue a memorable campaign by overcoming Germany to reach a first final.

Greece's reserve goalkeeper Kyriakos Stratilatis is ready to help his country continue a memorable UEFA European Under-19 Championship campaign by overcoming Germany in Steyr to reach the final for the first time.

Bad break
Stratilatis began the qualifying campaign as his country's No1, playing their first four games before losing his place to Apostolos Androutsos, but after three matches on the sidelines the broken finger his replacement suffered in the second Group A match against Austria brought a recall. "In my position there are very few opportunities you get as a substitute, only after injuries or red cards – but you never wish that on your team," Stratilatis told uefa.com. "The most important thing is to grasp those opportunities when they come along."

'Ready for it'
The Aris Thessaloniki FC custodian has certainly done that, helping earn a draw against the hosts and then keeping a clean sheet against Spain. He credits his team-mates and coach Nikolaos Nioplias with ensuring he still felt part of the squad even when not playing. "On the bench all the players are used to feeling the match, we just want to do all we can to help the team," he said. "When I wasn't playing the squad helped me a lot, they gave me strength and energy so when I did get the chance to play, I was ready for it. I hope to give my best and keep helping my team. There's a good atmosphere in this squad and the coach has contributed a lot to that. It's one of the best experiences I've had."

Semi-final debut
Greece reached these finals for the first time two years ago and it is a measure of their rapid progress at U19 level that on only their second appearance they have now reached a first-semi-final. "This is a new moment for us," Stratilatis added. "We're really enthusiastic with what we've achieved and now we have a new objective. Germany have a very good team so it's a particular challenge for us; we see it as a final. We will give our best, there's a lot of pressure but we can't let that affect us. The match will depend on small details; Elin Dimoutsos and Georgios Ioannidis will be back from suspension for us, and we really missed them against Spain. They can contribute a lot but we need the whole team to play well to get to the final."

EURO omen
Greece's defensive strength has inevitably prompted comparisons with the way the senior team won UEFA EURO 2004™ and their goalkeeper is hopeful the omens are pointing towards another memorable triumph. "We rely on our defence a lot; we try to keep a clean sheet first and with our good midfield and attack we then look to get something at the other end," he explained. "There's definitely some similarities with EURO 2004™, especially from our first match against Portugal which we won 1-0. I took that to be a sign and I hope we can continue in the same way, all the way to the final."

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