Preview:Greece vs Belarus - prediction, team news, lineups

Kicking off their 2026 World Cup Qualifying campaign on Friday, Greece will welcome Belarus to Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki for their first UEFA Group C clash.

Ethniki are aiming for a fourth straight win, while the White Wings are hoping to put their defeat from the last international break firmly in the past.

Match preview

Ivan Jovanovic's Greece missed out on the last two World Cups, having last featured in the tournament back in 2014, when they made the round of 16.

Ethniki are in excellent form ahead of this month's qualifiers after winning their three most recent matches by a margin of three goals or more, including a 4-0 victory over Bulgaria on June 10.

In fact, Jovanovic's side have won four of their last five and nine of their last 11 games, a stretch of consistently strong results that goes back almost 15 months.

Keen to get off the mark at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki this week, the hosts will take heart from the fact that they have triumphed in back-to-back home clashes ahead of this match, though they were beaten in their last two competitive fixtures on their own turf.

Greece's group includes their opponents, Denmark and Scotland, and three points on Friday could be vital considering that there is no clear favourite for top spot.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alos's Belarus are dreaming of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in their nation's history.

Back in June, the White Wings opened their summer international camp with a 4-1 win over Kazakhstan, but they rounded off their mid-year action with a 4-1 trashing at the hands of Russia.

In fairness to Alos's men, that defeat was their first in five matches and just their second in the 12 exact months prior to this game since they drew 0-0 with Bulgaria on September 5, 2024.

Travelling this week, the visitors may be expected to lose, but they will take heart from both their resilience overall and their commendable away record that includes two wins on the bounce going into the qualifiers, as well as only one loss from their last six games on the road.

Belarus are undoubtedly the underdogs in Group C, but three points on Friday could put them in the driver's seat before their showdown with Scotland on Monday.

Greece form (all competitions):

Belarus form (all competitions):

Team News

Greece will be unable to call upon Augsburg left-back Dimitris Giannoulis as he works his way back from a hamstring injury, though Kostas Tsimikas should be ready to start.

Up top, Fotis Ioannidis could lead the line once again, supported by Giorgos Masouras and Dimitris Pelkas from out wide, as well as Anastasios Bakasetas from an attacking midfield position.

As for Belarus, versatile attacker Maxim Kireev is out due to a minor injury, and Nikita Korzun should aid 18-year-old striker Trofim Melnichenko in his place.

In the centre of the park, Alos could line up with a trio of Valeriy Gromyko, Evgeni Yablonski and Max Ebong, all of whom will be working to gain control of the middle third.

Greece possible starting lineup:

Tzolakis; Rota, Mavropanos, Hatzidiakos, Tsimikas; Siopis, Mouzakitis; Masouras, Bakasetas, Pelkas; Ioannidis

Belarus possible starting lineup:

Lapoukhov; Pigas, Martynovich, Parkhomenko, Zabelin, Pechenin; Gromyko, Yablonski, Ebong; Korzun; Melnichenko

We say: Greece 1-0 Belarus

Greece are in excellent form ahead of this clash, and they will be expecting to start their World Cup qualifying campaign with a bang.

Belarus, on the other hand, are the underdogs, and while they could make things frustrating for their opponents, they are likely to walk away empty-handed on Friday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.