When the qualifying draws for the 2016 European championships were made, teams were divided into six pots. Greece, Euro 2004 winners, and 2014 World Cup finalists were top seeds (Pot 1) and were given a fairly straightforward looking group that also included Northern Ireland, Romania, Hungary, Finland and the Faroe Islands.
Of the six teams in the group, the Greeks were the only one that had played at Euro 2012. It was supposed to be easy for them, but turned into a nightmarish campaign.
The Greeks finished last in the group (even below the Faroe Islands). It is the FIRST time that a top seed has finished last in their European qualifying group.
It is also the FIRST time that the bottom seed has taken six points off the top seed. The Faroes scored only six points in qualifying, and BOTH their wins were against Greece.
The eventual winners of the group, Northern Ireland, were the fifth seeds and became the first 5th seeds to win their group.
Greece beat Hungary 4-3 in their 10th and final group game. It was their first win since their WC 2014 triumph against Ivory Coast. Also the number of goals they scored in the 10th game (4) was more than ALL the first nine games put together (3)
Unbelievable stats, and Greece were under the stewardship of former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri when their campaign began. He was shown the door and so was Sergio Makarian , and a deal for Bernd Schuster to take over also fell through
More disappointing is the fact that Greece qualified for a 16 team Euro 2012, but failed to make it to an expanded 24 team competition for France 2016.
