07.08.2015 17:45 h

Greece name Tsanas as interim national coach

Greece Under-21 coach Kostas Tsanas was named Friday by the Hellenic Football Federation as interim coach of the full national team to replace Uruguayan Sergio Markarian, who resigned last month.

Markarian, 70, could not manage to garner a win for the Greeks in his five months in charge, and his stint included an embarrassing 2-1 defeat in the Faroe Islands in a Euro 2016 qualifying Group F match.

This is the second time that Tsanas, 48, has taken over the national team -- he previously did so last year when the Greeks fired Italian Claudio Ranieri who also lost to the Faroe Islands at home.

The federation also announced Friday that former Greece captain, and the country's most-capped player, Giorgos Karagounis, has had his contract as Football Director terminated after one year.

Greece are rooted to the bottom of Euro 2016 qualifying Group F with just two points from six matches, their prospects of reaching next year's finals in France already having gone up in smoke.

They still have four qualifiers to play, with the first coming on September 4 at home against Finland, and it is highly unlikely that the federation will have a new permanent coach by then.