Greek coach Otto Rehhagel will have to make at least one change to his much-vaunted defensive line-up for Saturday’s World Cup Group B opener against South Korea.

Centre-back Vangelis Moras, who plays for Bologna in Italy’s Serie A, has failed to recover from a lingering groin injury and is an almost definite non-starter, with a team spokesman claiming that he will need “a last-minute medical wonder,” to make the starting line-up.

And fellow defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos, from Liverpool in the EPL, is also reportedly a slight doubt.