Greece national under-21 football team

Greece Under-21

Nickname(s)	Εθνική Ελπίδων ("National team of Hopes")
Association	Hellenic Football Federation
Head coach	Giannis Taousianis
Captain	Alexis Kalogeropoulos
Most caps	Giorgos Karagounis (39)
Top scorer	Nikos Liberopoulos & Lampros Choutos (15)
First colours Second colours
Biggest win
Greece 6–0 Luxembourg (Greece; 1993) Greece 6–0 Latvia (Greece; 1999)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 7–0 Greece (Hungary; 1976)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 1988 )
Best result	Runners-up, 1988, 1998

Greece U-21 team on 5 September 2011

The Greece national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Greece and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years.

The under-21 competition rules stipulate that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, so technically it is up to an U-23 competition. To be eligible for the Greece National Team, all the football players must hold Hellenic (Greek) nationality and comply with the provisions of Article 15 of the regulations governing the Application of FIFA Statutes. A list of 35 football players must be submitted to the UEFA administration 30 days before the European Under-21 Football Championship opening match. Only 22 of the 35 players listed are authorised to take part in the final tournament and 3 of them must be goalkeepers.

As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U-21s, senior side and again for the U-21s, as Sotiris Ninis has done recently. It is also possible to play more than one country at youth level or different at youth level and different at senior level (provided the player is eligible). But a football player can represent only the senior national team that capped him first.

Also in existence are national teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under-17s. Greece also has a women's national team.

History

The first time that Greece's national team of hopes were formed was in 1968, with the aim of participating in the first Balkan Youth Championship that took place at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki.

In their maiden match she played with the corresponding team in Turkey; the match ended in a goalless draw.

The first eleven were the following: Tourkomenis, B. Intzoglou (59' Dimitriou), Chaliambalias, Kyriazis, Athanasopoulos, Karafeskos, Filakouris, Sarafis (46' Stoligas), K. Papaioannou, Koudas, Kritikopoulos (70' Alexiadis).

In the following years, Greece won twice the Balkan Youth Championship (1969 and 1971), and they fought twice (1988 and 1998) in the final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Competition Record

As of 23 September 2022

Competition	Pld	W	D	L
UEFA U-23 Championship	14	6	0	8
UEFA U-21 Championship	212	100	35	77

UEFA European U23 Championship record

UEFA European U21 Championship record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1972	Semi-finals	3rd/4th	4	2	0	2	7	5	+2		2	2	0	0	3	0	+3
1974	Did not qualify										4	1	0	3	4	7	−3
1976											4	1	0	3	4	9	−5
Total	0 titles	1/3	4	2	0	2	7	5	+2		10	4	0	6	11	16	−5

UEFA European U21 Championship record

UEFA European U21 Championship record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1978	Did not qualify										4	0	1	3	1	13	−12
1980											4	2	0	2	5	6	−1
1982											4	0	1	3	2	7	−5
1984											6	3	2	1	6	4	+2
1986											4	2	0	2	6	8	−2
1988	Final	Runners-up	6	1	3	2	8	8	0		6	4	1	1	15	5	+10
1990	Did not qualify										6	1	1	4	3	11	−8
1992											6	1	1	4	6	13	−7
1994	Quarter-finals	6th	2	0	1	1	2	4	−2		8	6	2	0	23	6	+17
1996	Did not qualify										8	3	0	5	12	12	0
1998	Final	Runners-up	3	2	0	1	4	1	+3		10	6	1	3	16	11	+5
2000	Did not qualify										12	8	2	2	33	13	+20
2002	Group stage	8th	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3		10	6	1	3	18	8	+10
2004	Did not qualify										8	3	3	2	10	7	+3
2006											12	6	2	4	18	9	+9
2007											2	0	0	2	1	4	−3
2009											10	5	3	2	20	13	+7
2011											10	6	1	3	13	12	+1
2013											10	4	1	5	14	15	−1
2015											8	5	0	3	20	10	+10
2017											10	4	1	5	13	14	−1
2019											12	8	1	3	26	7	+19
2021											10	5	1	4	10	11	−1
2023											10	5	2	3	16	10	+6
2025											10	7	1	2	20	14	+6
Total	0 titles	4/24	14	3	5	6	17	19	−2	198	97	30	71	319	236	+83

Honours

Greece national under-21 football team honours ^[1]

Type	Competition	Titles	Winners	Runners-up	Third place	Ref.
International	UEFA European Under-23 Championship	0			1972	[2]
	UEFA European Under-21 Championship	0		1988, 1998		[3]
Regional	Balkan Youth Championship	2	1969, 1971			[4]
	Valeriy Lobanovskyi Memorial Tournament	0			2015, 2018	[5]

•   record
• ^S Shared record

Results and schedule

The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

Slovakia   v   Greece

11 October 2024 (2024-10-11) Friendly	Slovakia	2–1	Greece	Nitra, Slovakia
15:30 (16:30 EEST)	Gajdoš 56' Javorček 88' (pen.)	Report	Kostoulas 84'	Stadium: Štadión pod Zoborom Referee: Balázs Berke (Hungary)

Croatia   v   Greece

15 October 2024 (2024-10-15) 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification Group G	Croatia	3–2	Greece	Koprivnica, Croatia
18:00 (19:00 EEST)	Kačavenda 15' Beljo 34' Vušković 76'	Report	Kostoulas 45+3' Bakoulas 45+4'	Stadium: Ivan Kušek-Apaš City Stadium Referee: Sandi Putros (Denmark)

Greece   v   Hungary

19 November 2024 (2024-11-19) Friendly	Greece	1–1	Hungary	Serres, Greece
16:00 EEST	Rallis 80' (pen.)	Report	Klausz 32'	Stadium: Serres Municipal Stadium

2025

Greece   v   Albania

21 March 2025 (2025-03-21) Friendly	Greece	0–0	Albania	Serres, Greece
17:00		Report		Stadium: Serres Municipal Stadium

  Bulgaria v Greece  

25 March 2025 (2025-03-25) Friendly	Bulgaria	1–1	Greece	Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
18:00	Rupanov 6'	Report	Alexiou 87'	Stadium: Stadio Hristo Botev

  Serbia v Greece  

4 June 2025 (2025-06-04) Friendly	Serbia	2–3	Greece	Loznica, Serbia
19:00	Vlahović 20', 55'	Report	Kyriopoulos 7' Koutsias 21' Papakanellos 90+4'	Stadium: Lagator Stadium

  Malta v Greece  

9 September 2025 (2025-09-09) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Malta	0–5	Greece	Ta' Qali, Malta
20:00		Report	Pnevmonidis 14', 63' Koutsias 45+2', 54' Rallis 90'	Stadium: Centenary Stadium Referee: Miloš Savović (Montenegro)

  Germany v Greece  

10 October 2025 (2025-10-10) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Germany	v	Greece
		Report

  Latvia v Greece  

14 October 2025 (2025-10-14) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Latvia	v	Greece
		Report

Greece   v   Georgia

14 November 2025 (2025-11-14) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Greece	v	Georgia
		Report

Greece   v   Northern Ireland

18 November 2025 (2025-11-18) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Greece	v	Northern Ireland
		Report

2026

Greece   v   Malta

27 March 2026 (2026-03-27) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Greece	v	Malta
		Report

Greece   v   Germany

31 March 2026 (2026-03-31) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Greece	v	Germany
		Report

  Georgia v Greece  

26 September 2026 (2026-09-26) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Georgia	v	Greece
		Report

Greece   v   Latvia

1 October 2026 (2026-10-01) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Greece	v	Latvia
		Report

  Northern Ireland v Greece  

6 October 2026 (2026-10-06) 2027 UEFA European U21 Championship Qualification – Group F	Northern Ireland	v	Greece
		Report

Euro 2027 Under-21 Championship qualification

2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Main article: 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	3	Final tournament		—	10 Oct	6 Oct '26	27 Mar '26	5–0	14 Nov
2	Greece	1	1	0	0	5	0	+5	3	Play-offs		31 Mar '26	—	14 Nov	18 Nov	1 Oct '26	27 Mar '26
3	Georgia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1			18 Nov	26 Sep '26	—	1–1	27 Mar '26	31 Mar '26
4	Northern Ireland	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1			14 Oct	6 Oct '26	1 Oct '26	—	13 Nov	9 Oct
5	Latvia	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0			26 Sep '26	14 Oct	10 Oct	31 Mar '26	—	6 Oct '26
6	Malta	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0			30 Sep '26	0–5	14 Oct	26 Sep '26	18 Nov	—

First match(es) will be played: 9 September 2025. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Coaching staff

Managers

The following table provides a summary of the complete record of each Greece team manager including their results regarding European Under-21 Championship.

Giannis Goumas was the most recent U-21 Greece national team manager

Key: Pld–games played, W–games won, D–games drawn; L–games lost, %–win percentage

Manager	Greece tenure	Pld	W	D	L	Win %	Major competitions
Stelios Aposporis	2004–2007	18	9	1	8	050.0	2006 European Championship  – Failed to qualify 2007 European Championship  – Failed to qualify
Nikos Nioplias	2007–2009	19	9	5	5	047.4	2009 European Championship  – Failed to qualify
Georgios Georgiadis	2010–2012	19	10	2	7	052.6	2011 European Championship  – Play-offs 2013 European Championship  – Failed to qualify
Kostas Tsanas	2012–2015	18	9	2	7	050.0	2015 European Championship  – Failed to qualify
Michalis Iordanidis	2015	1	1	0	0	100.0	—
Antonis Nikopolidis	2015–2019	33	16	5	12	048.5	2017 European Championship  – Failed to qualify 2019 European Championship  – Play-offs
Giannis Goumas	2019–2021	12	4	2	6	033.3	2021 European Championship  – Failed to qualify
Georgios Simos	2021–2022	10	5	2	3	050.0	2023 European Championship  – Failed to qualify
Nikos Papadopoulos	2022–2024	10	5	2	3	050.0	—
Giannis Taousianis	2024–	7	2	3	2	028.6	—
Totals

Last updated: 4 June 2025. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Players

Current squad

As of 10 September 2025

The following 25 players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Malta on 9 September 2025. ^[6]

Names in italics denote players who have been capped for the senior team.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1 GK	Nikolaos Botis	(2004-03-31) 31 March 2004 (age 21)	4	0	Olympiacos
12	1 GK	Georgios Karakasidis	(2005-01-31) 31 January 2005 (age 20)	2	0	Panathinaikos
	1 GK	Alexandros Tsompanidis	(2004-08-05) 5 August 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Panserraikos
2	2 DF	Athanasios Koutsogoulas	(2004-04-03) 3 April 2004 (age 21)	9	0	Olympiacos
3	2 DF	Noah Allen	(2004-04-28) 28 April 2004 (age 21)	2	0	Inter Miami
4	2 DF	Alexis Kalogeropoulos (captain)	(2004-07-26) 26 July 2004 (age 21)	6	0	Olympiacos
5	2 DF	Christos Alexiou	(2005-06-30) 30 June 2005 (age 20)	4	1	Inter Milan U23
22	2 DF	David Galiatsos	(2006-02-01) 1 February 2006 (age 19)	0	0	Panetolikos
	2 DF	Georgios Katris	(2005-10-14) 14 October 2005 (age 19)	3	0	Levadiakos
	2 DF	Konstantinos Kostoulas	(2005-02-08) 8 February 2005 (age 20)	4	0	OFI
	2 DF	Marios Sinanaj	(2004-01-16) 16 January 2004 (age 21)	4	0	Volos
6	3 MF	Theofanis Bakoulas	(2005-01-04) 4 January 2005 (age 20)	9	1	Rio Ave
8	3 MF	Konstantinos Gkoumas	(2005-03-12) 12 March 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Levadiakos
16	3 MF	Argyris Liatsikouras	(2006-12-20) 20 December 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Olympiacos
18	3 MF	Giannis Apostolakis	(2004-09-24) 24 September 2004 (age 20)	7	0	OFI
20	3 MF	Adriano Bregou	(2006-04-09) 9 April 2006 (age 19)	1	0	Panathinaikos
21	3 MF	Vangelis Nikolaou	(2004-06-03) 3 June 2004 (age 21)	5	0	Panetolikos
	3 MF	Viktor Rumyantsev	(2004-07-10) 10 July 2004 (age 21)	2	0	Panserraikos
7	4 FW	Stavros Pnevmonidis	(2006-08-07) 7 August 2006 (age 19)	3	2	Olympiacos
9	4 FW	Georgios Koutsias	(2004-02-08) 8 February 2004 (age 21)	20	7	Lugano
10	4 FW	Antonis Papakanellos	(2005-08-11) 11 August 2005 (age 20)	5	1	Rio Ave
11	4 FW	Dimitris Rallis	(2005-03-26) 26 March 2005 (age 20)	5	2	Jagiellonia Białystok
14	4 FW	Giannis Theodosoulakis	(2004-09-11) 11 September 2004 (age 21)	4	0	OFI
17	4 FW	Giannis Bokos	(2007-02-03) 3 February 2007 (age 18)	1	0	Panathinaikos
	4 FW	Dimitrios Chatsidis	(2006-06-14) 14 June 2006 (age 19)	1	0	PAOK

Recent call-ups

Following are listed players called up in the previous twelve months who are still eligible to represent the under-21 team.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Spyros Angelidis	(2005-01-28) 28 January 2005 (age 20)	2	0	Asteras Tripolis	v.  Serbia, 4 June 2025
GK	Dimitrios Monastirlis	(2004-03-22) 22 March 2004 (age 21)	1	0	PAOK	v.  Hungary, 19 November 2024
DF	Dimitrios Keramitsis	(2004-07-01) 1 July 2004 (age 21)	1	0	Pogoń Szczecin	v.  Serbia, 4 June 2025
DF	Lefteris Tasiouras	(2004-03-01) 1 March 2004 (age 21)	4	0	Volos	v.  Serbia, 4 June 2025
DF	Konstantinos Polykratis	(2006-07-02) 2 July 2006 (age 19)	1	0	PAOK B	v.  Serbia, 4 June 2025
DF	Taxiarchis Filon	(2005-03-16) 16 March 2005 (age 20)	2	0	Levadiakos	v.  Bulgaria, 25 March 2025
DF	Isidoros Koutsidis	(2004-12-23) 23 December 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Olympiacos B	v.  Hungary, 19 November 2024
DF	Nikos Deligiannis	(2005-03-22) 22 March 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Petržalka	v.  Hungary, 19 November 2024
MF	Dimitris Kaloskamis	(2005-03-01) 1 March 2005 (age 20)	6	0	AEK	v.  Serbia, 4 June 2025
MF	Christos Papadopoulos	(2004-11-01) 1 November 2004 (age 20)	3	0	Atalanta U23	v.  Bulgaria, 25 March 2025
MF	Sotiris Kontouris	(2005-02-24) 24 February 2005 (age 20)	3	0	Panetolikos	v.  Bulgaria, 25 March 2025
MF	Christos Mouzakitis	(2006-12-25) 25 December 2006 (age 18)	4	0	Olympiacos	v.  Croatia, 15 October 2024
FW	Lampros Smyrlis	(2004-07-12) 12 July 2004 (age 21)	4	0	Panetolikos	v.  Serbia, 4 June 2025
FW	Georgios Kyriopoulos	(2004-08-24) 24 August 2004 (age 21)	2	1	Panathinaikos	v.  Serbia, 4 June 2025
FW	Athanasios Dabizas	(2004-05-26) 26 May 2004 (age 21)	1	0	Audace Cerignola	v.  Bulgaria, 25 March 2025
FW	Charalampos Kostoulas	(2007-05-30) 30 May 2007 (age 18)	2	2	Brighton & Hove Albion	v.  Croatia, 15 October 2024
INJWithdrew due to injury PREIncluded in preliminary roster

Player records

Top appearances Rank Player Club(s) Year(s) U-21 caps 1 Giorgos Karagounis Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrnis 1993–1998 39 2 Georgios Alexopoulos Panathinaikos 1996–1998 33 3 Dimitrios Papadopoulos Akratitos, Burnley 2000–2002 27 Anastasios Lagos Panathinaikos 2011–2014 5 Vasilios Lakis Paniliakos 1996–1998 25 Ioannis Amanatidis Stuttgart, Greuther Fürth 2000–2003 7 Dimitrios Mavrogenidis Aris Thessaloniki, Olympiacos 1996–1998 24 Apostolos Vellios Everton, Blackpool, Lierse 2011–2014 Elini Dimoutsos Panathinaikos, OFI, Panetolikos 2008–2010

Top goalscorers Rank Player Club(s) Year(s) U-21 goals 1 Nikos Liberopoulos Kalamata, Panathinaikos 1994–1998 15 Lampros Choutos Olympiacos 1999–2002 3 Giorgos Karagounis Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrnis 1993–1998 11 Dimitrios Papadopoulos Akratitos, Burnley 2000–2002 5 Nikos Karelis Ergotelis, Amkar Perm, Panathinaikos 2010–2014 9 6 Efthymis Koulouris Anorthosis, PAOK, Atromitos 2016–2018 7 Antonis Petropoulos Haidari, Egaleo, Panathinaikos, OFI 2005–2008 Vangelis Mantzios Panionios 2003–2005 Lazaros Christodoulopoulos PAOK, Panathinaikos 2005–2008 Nikolaos Ioannidis Borussia Dortmund II 2015–2016 Georgios Koutsias PAOK, PAOK B, Volos, Chicago Fire, Lugano 2020–

Former squads

• 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Greece
• 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Greece
• 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Greece

See also

• Greece national football team
• Greece national under-23 football team
• Greece national under-20 football team
• Greece national under-19 football team
• Greece national under-17 football team

References

1. "Hellenic Football Federation". epo.gr (in Greek). Online. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
2. Garin, Erik; Jordan, Tony (14 February 2004). "Europe U-23 Championship 1972". rsssf.org. Online. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
3. Garin, Erik (21 July 2025). "Europe - U-23/U-21 Tournaments". rsssf.org. Online. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
4. Armillotta, Giovanni; Garin, Erik; Pandoski, Fatjon (21 January 2006). "Balkan Youth Championship 1968-1981". rsssf.org. Online. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
5. Veronese, Andrea; Garin, Erik (2 August 2018). "Lobanovsky International Tournament (Kyiv)". rsssf.org. Online. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
6. "Εθνική Ελπίδων: η αποστολή για την Μάλτα". epo.gr. Retrieved 26 August 2025.

External links

• Greece U-21 at HFF (in Greek)
• Greece U-21 at UEFA
• UEFA European U-21 Championship at uefa.com