Papastathopoulos wants attacking Greece

Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has urged his team to attack Germany in Friday’s Euro 2012 quarter-final.

The Greeks qualified for the last eight after overcoming Russia on the final match day in Group A, but will now face Joachim Loew’s side, who are among the favourites for the tournament.

However, the Werder Bremen defender has warned his Bundesliga rivals they should not expect an easy game in Gdansk, and that his team-mates will be eager to secure a famous upset.

“When we attacked, we saw that we have good forwards and we could hurt Russia,” he told Sport1.

“Against Germany, we hope to play a similar game and advance to the semi-finals. We need to go forward and do everything to win.

“Germany are certainly a great team, and are favourites for this game. But, as we showed against Russia, we know what we can do on the field. We have a good defence.

“We know that we’re playing against a strong opponent, but we want to progress.”

Greece will be missing several players for the quarter-final clash, including the injured Avraam Papadopoulos and the suspended Giorgos Karagounis, but Sokratis is still confident they can win.

“We’re missing Papadopoulos, who is a very important player for us, and of course we need to replace Karagounis,” he said.