Welcome to Adeke Emmanuel's football blog

Following defeats to Cote d'Ivoire and Colombia respectively,
head coaches Alberto Zaccheroni and Fernando Santos know
nothing but victory will suffice on Thursday
Greece and Japan will meet on Thursday in Natal forced to
get a victory to keep their hopes of reaching the round of 16
following defeats at their opening matches against Colombia
and Cote d'Ivoire.
Known for their defensive strength, the Greeks actually played
very attacking-minded in their opener. Of course, that could
be attributed to the fact they were behind in the score since
the 5th minute.
But Georgios Samaras assures the circumstances of the game
had nothing to do with Greece's switch of style of Fernando
Santos' men.
"I know what everyone expected of Greece, though: that we
would have 11 men behind the ball, defend, defend, defend
and give everything to keep a clean sheet. But I think what
they saw was a team that likes to attack, that moves the ball
really well, and that tries always to create chances," he said
to FIFA.com . "We went out to win against Colombia, and that
philosophy will not change."
Admittedly, playing a different style didn't work so well for the
2004 European champions, who finished on the wrong end of
a 3-0 scoreline. "We just hope it brings a better result for us
because Japan is now a must, must-win game for us," said
the 29-year old forward.
Japan were doing better thanks to Keisuke Honda’s strike in
the first half, but struggled to hold on against a very physical
Cote d'Ivoire side. Once Didier Drogba entered the field, it took
his team only a few minutes to turn around the score, with
goals by Wilfried Bony and Gervinho - the latter with the help
of goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.
Coach Alberto Zaccheroni admitted after the loss that he
could make radical changes to his squad for the match at
Arena das Dunas, but Honda feels the Asian champions just
need to focus on their strong areas.
"Possession, that is our strength," said Honda. "When we
have the ball we just need to keep the ball and not give it
away easily. When we do lose the ball we should press
immediately. That is our philosophy. The last game we lost
the ball too easily so that is how we spent a lot of energy in
the first half; that is the point. That is why we must
concentrate on keeping the ball."