I guess it is not a surprise how good it was to be included in the squad for game again Northern Ireland. Before the game I had only played for 45 minutes against Austria and I was quite happy with my performance. When the manager decided to include me in the starting line-up, I felt that I had to pay his trust back by performing as well as I could. Well, we kept a clean sheet and won the 3 points which should be more than enough to please any manager!

Now we have to face Spain and Ukraine. Both games are going to be massive for us. Of course, Spain is the favorite team to end up at the top of the group’s table. This means that we need to at least win Ukraine at home, if we are to maintain our hopes for qualification.

Playing for the national team is a great honor and I always want to give my best for the team and my country. As I do not get to play lately I requested to be included in the reserves so that I could keep myself in the best possible shape for the summer games.

Nikos Dabizas