Dinos Mavropanos and Greece stormed into the UEFA Euro 2024 play-off Path C final with a 5-0 semi-final win over Kazakhstan on Thursday evening.
The Greeks, who reached the play-offs after finishing third in Group C and top of UEFA Nations League C Group 2, were far too good for their opponents at the OPAP Arena in Athens.
With the West Ham United defender in fine form, Greece were four goals up by half-time through a Anastasios Bakasetas penalty and strikes from Dimitrios Pelkas, Fotis Ioannidis and Dimitrios Kourbelis.
An own-goal from Aleksandr Marochkin late in the second half completed the scoring and ensured Greece’s passage to the final.
There, they will travel to the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi on Tuesday 26 March, after Georgia scored a 2-0 home win over Luxembourg in their semi-final.
Elsewhere, in Path A, Wales defeated Finland 4-1 and Poland thumped Estonia 5-1. Wales will host Poland in their final. In Path B, Iceland and Ukraine scored away wins at Israel and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ukraine will host their final in Wrocław in Poland.
Earlier in the week, West Ham United U21s midfielder Lewis Orford made his third appearance for England MU18s in a 2-1 triumph against Czechia on Wednesday afternoon.
Fresh from making the matchday squad in the Hammers UEFA Europa League triumph against SC Freiburg, the midfielder was a second-half substitute, playing the final 30 minutes, at Pinatar Arena in Murcia, while Academy of Football goalkeeper Finlay Herrick was an unused substitute.
Sammy Amo-Ameyaw and Tyrique George struck for England, who hope to continue their winning start to the U18 Super Cup with fixtures against Germany on Friday 22 March and then the Netherlands on Monday 25 March.
