Greek coach Fernando Santos, of Portugal, who took over from German Otto Rehhagel in summer of last year after the latter resigned following a poor World Cup, is adamant that his side will be looking for the three points from today’s clash.

Before leaving for Malta, he told the Greek press: Whether a goal arrives early or in the last minute, the players know what they have to do, and that is to win. A victory will push us closer to qualification. That is what I am after.”

Commenting about Malta, he said from what he saw, they will be hard to beat. “They have three to four quality players. They work hard on the field of play and like to run with or without the ball. They are extremely strong in their counter-attacks,” he added.

The Greek squad is made up of the following players:

Goalkeepers: A. Tsorvas (Panathinaikos), K. Chalkias (PAOK).

Defenders: A. Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), G. Tzavellas (E. Frankfurt), L. Vyntra (Panathinaikos), S. Papasthopoulos (Milan), E. Moras (Bologna), V. Torosidis (Olympiakos).

Midfielders: K. Katsouranis (Panathinakos), G. Karagounis (Panathinaikos), P. Kafes (AEK Athens), S. Ninis (Panathinaikos), K. Panagiotis (Brescia), G. Makos (AEK Athens.

Strikers: D. Salpigidis (PAOK), I. Fetfatzidis (Olympiakos), G. Samaras (Celtic), K. Mitroglou (Panionios), N. Lymperopoulos (AEK Athens).