PAOK internationals: call-ups and fixtures
10+1 PAOK players have been called by their national sides for the first international encounters of 2017. Djalma Campos had to decline, as his injury is keeping him sidelined. Find out on paokfc.gr which players will be in action in the following week and their fixtures.
Glykos included in Greece squad for Belgium match
Greece are preparing for arguably their toughest fixture in the FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers, the away encounter against mighty Belgium. The “Red Devils” lead Group H with 4 victories in as many encounters, with Greece trailing by two points. The only undefeated sides of the group will clash on 25 March in Brussels. Greece coach Michael Skibbe has included Panagiotis Glykos in his plans, along with Stefanos Kapino and Dimitris Kyriakidis who complete the goalkeeping trio.
Also in Group H, Bosnia and Herzegovina host minnows Gibraltar in Zenica on 25 March and three days later they travel to Elbasan for a tough friendly against Albania. Gojko Cimirot has been called by Mehmed Baždarević to the Bosnian squad.
In Group I of the European Qualifiers, Croatia (without Marin Leovac) play at home on 24 March against Yevhen Shakhov’s Ukraine. The Vatreni lead the standings with 10 points and the Ukrainians trail by two.
Youngsters in action
Greece U21s have no official fixtures and have opted for two friendly encounters instead. On 22 March they host their Hungarian counterparts in Toumba Stadium (kick-off: 16:30) and, five days later, on the 27th, they travel to Włocławek for a very strong friendly match against Poland U20s. Efthymis Koulouris and Panagiotis Deligiannidis have been called to the squad.
Greece U19s travel to the Netherlands for their UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round matches in Group 1. With Marios Siampanis in their ranks, they will fight for top spot and automatic qualification to the finals, to be held next July in Georgia.
Group 2 of the Elite Round will be held in Germany with the participation of the host nation, Slovakia, Nikolas Mattheou’s Cyprus and Meletis Mišković’s Serbia. The two youngsters of PAOK will face each other on Tuesday 28 March.
Campos out, Varela and Warda in
There are no official fixtures in Africa, but some interesting friendly encounters. Fernando Varela’s Cape Verde will face Luxembourg on 28 March. More than a month after missing out on the African Cup of Nations’ trophy, Egypt return to action for a friendly match against Togo (28.03). Amr Warda has been called to the “Pharaohs’” squad.
Djalma Campos was initially included in Angola’s squad for their friendly against South Africa, but his injury will keep him away from action.
- Serbia Football Federation received the ‘all-clear’ by FIFA regarding Aleksandar Prijović. The PAOK forward is now eligible to be called up and feature for the senior national team of Serbia.
