Greece coach has Spain in his sights in qualifiers

Greece coach John van't Schip announced on Wednesday a 24-man squad for home World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Kosovo this month which he hopes will see his side secure second place in the group.

Greece is third in European group B with nine points, four points behind second-placed Spain and six points behind table-topping Sweden.

The Greeks -- who last appeared in the World Cup finals in 2014 -- play Spain on 11 November and Kosovo on 14 November, both at the Athens Olympic Stadium.

"The matches against Spain and Kosovo are the last two in the qualifying group and we will fight for the chances we have to finish in second place," Van't Schip said.

"We will prepare our team in the best possible way for the remaining matches.

"We need to keep in mind that Kosovo has not been an easy opponent for us in our last three matches.

"That is why it is imperative we meet the highest possible level of competition in order to get the best results," added the 57-year-old Canada-born former Dutch international winger.

Van't Schip called up for the first time 22-year-old Gerasimos Mitoglou of AEK Athens and fellow defender 27-year-old Dimitris Goutas, who plays for Turkish side Sivasspor.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Odysseas Vlachodimos (Benfica/POR), Alexandros Paschalakis (PAOK Thessaloniki), Giorgos Athanasiadis (Sheriff Tiraspol/MLD)

Defenders: Thanasis Androutsos (Olympiakos), Manolis Saliakas (Giannina), Pantelis Chatzidiakos (AZ Alkmaar/NED), Dimitris Goutas (Sivasspor/TUR), Giorgos Tzavellas, Gerasimos Mitoglou (both AEK Athens), Dimitris Giannoulis (Norwich/ENG), Kostas Tsimikas (Liverpool/ENG), Giorgos Kyriakopoulos (Sassuolo/ITA)

Midfielders: Dimitris Pelkas (Fenerbahce/TUR), Giorgos Masouras, Andreas Bouchalakis, Marios Vrousai (all Olympiakos), Tasos Bakasetas, Manolis Siopis (both Trabzonspor/TUR), Sotiris Alexandropoulos (Panathinaikos)

Forwards: Dimitris Limnios (FC Twente/NED), Christos Tzolis (Norwich/ENG), Petros Mantalos (AEK Athens), Vangelis Pavlidis (Willem II/NED), Tasos Douvikas (FC Utrecht/NED).