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Greece has been one of the minnows of world football for a long time, only making it to one World Cup in 1994, and one European Championship in 1980. But in 2004, they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in all of football when they won the European Championships. They haven't repeated their success since, though they did manage to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, and certainly gained more respect as a footballing nation now then they ever did in the past.
Greece qualified for their first major tournament in 1980, at the European Championships, unexpectedly topping a group containing Russia and Hungary. They went out in the group stages of the tournament, but their performance was considered respectable. In 1994, they qualified for the World Cup. The tournament was a disaster for them, losing all their matches; 4-0 to Argentina, 4-0 to Bulgaria, and 2-0 to Nigeria. They didn't qualify for another tournament until 2004, when they got into the European Championships. They began the tournament with a shocking 2-1 victory over Portugal, and went on to draw with Spain and graduating their group ahead of them on goal difference. They defeated reigning European champion France in the quarter finals and the Czech Republic in the semi finals. In the final they faced Portugal again, a repeat of the opening game. Portugal were heavy favourites but Greece managed a 1-0 win, making them one of the most unlikely winners of a major international tournament in history. The only other upset that could be considered as equally shocking was Denmark winning the European Championships in 1992.
Greece qualified for the 2010 World Cup but failed to make it past the group stages. They are currently ranked 13th in the world, an extremely high position based mostly on their 2004 win rather than their current achievements, though they have been performing more consistently than they did in the past.
Greece was drawn in Group B, with Argentina, Korea Republic and Nigeria. They lost their first game 2-0 to Korea, defeated Nigeria 2-1, and lost to Argentina 2-0. They finished 3rd in their group and failed to progress, though their match against Nigeria did provide them with their first ever goal in a World Cup finals, scored by Dimitris Salpigdis.
Theodoros Zagorakis: Defensive midfielder and captain of the side that won Euro 2004, Zagorakis spent the majority of his career with Greek teams Kavala, PAOK, and AEK Athens. He was named the player of the tournament at Euro 2004 and was shortlisted for the FIFA world cup and European players of the season that year, ranking 17th and 5th respectively.
Theofanis Gekas: The top scorer of the European qualifying section of the World Cup, Gekas currently plays for German side Eintracht Frankfurt, having previously played with Bayern Leverkusen. However, he was out on loan to various different clubs for a lot of that time, only making 50 appearances for the club during four years.
Antonios Nikopolidis: The most capped Greek player of all time, Nikopolidis played in goal for Greece from 1999 to 2008. He was one of the key players in their Euro 2004, Greece played defensively and didn't score many goals so his 6 clean sheets were essential to their success.
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