The Greek side that won Euro 2004 deserve many superlatives for an achievement that shocked a continent. But entertaining they were not. 

Look around Europe a generation on and you will see that another Greek football revolution is in full swing. And this one looks a lot more fun. 

It is led by Brighton’s teenage sensation, Charalampos Kostoulas, and Arsenal’s former Norwich City outcast, Christos Tzolis.  

Going into the first international window of 2026-27,  Kostoulas had scored four goals in eight matches so far this season and two from two in the Premier League for a Seagulls’ side soaring high in third place. 

Arsenal, meanwhile, sit in second, thanks in part to the performances of Tzolis, who has already established himself as a regular starter for the champions. 

Now, two matches into the Nations League, they have helped the country to back-to-back away wins against Serbia and Jurgen Klopp’s Germany. Greece now sit on top of their group and can now look forward to successive home matches against the Netherlands and Klopp’s men. 

Little wonder that the mood in the country is as bouyant as its been in 22 years.

“They’re two players who reflect the way that the Greek side are now playing,” says Nikos Dabizas, the former defender who spent seven years in English football with Newcastle and then Leicester City.

“In the past, you would say that Greece’s strength was their defending, they were hard to beat, didn’t concede many goals but didn’t score many either.

“Now these guys, along with [Konstantinos] Karetsas at Dortmund, [Vangelis] Pavlidis at Benfica and [Stefanos] Tzimas, another kid at Brighton who came through the system at PAOK  – there’s quality everywhere.”  

Kostoulas is viewed as an emblematic figure in this new age for Greek football, although his roots can be found in the foundations that were laid for the 2004 triumph.

His father, Athanasios Kostoulas, played alongside Stelios Giannakopoulos during his time at Olympiakos. He also played alongside both Giannakopoulos – a member of that European Championship winning side 22 years ago – and Dabizas for the Greek national team.  

“His dad was the opposite of Babis [the Greek shortening for Charalampos] – he was a very disciplined centre-back,” says Giannakopoulos. “His brother [Konstantinos Kostoulas] plays in the same position for Crete.  

“When it comes down to it, everybody can see the way you played your football, and say you were a good player.

“But for me, football is all about character. This is what counts more for me. His father was a great character.  

“They’re a great family, and that has rubbed off on the boys. You can see that in the way they play and the way they act.

“He’s not flying in the clouds after one great performance, or a goal against Arsenal. He has got his feet firmly on the floor – exactly where they should be.”

Dabizas believes that both Kostoulas and Tzolis are in exactly the right place for their development.

“Kostoulas came through the Olympiakos team that won the Champions League in under-19s football [in 2023-24],” he says.

“To do that as a team from Greece against the biggest names in European football – that’s an incredible achievement. But to develop, you need to go abroad, you need minutes at the very top level. 

“You look across Europe and see that Brighton is a club that does things the right way. They bring in young players, they develop them, they give them time and opportunity. The manager obviously has faith in him. 

“As a player he has a bit of attitude and I like that, I think you need that, especially as a young guy in the Premier League.  

“Tzolis has done the right thing throughout his career as well. He went to Norwich as a very young guy and found it difficult but I think that was inevitable. 

“He was in a side that was always going to spend more time defending than attacking.

“When you’re a young guy [Tzolis was just 19 when he arrived at Carrow Road] that’s tough. 

“But he went away, got experience in Germany and then Belgium and then came back to the Premier League as a much more rounded player. 

“To come straight into this Arsenal and get into the first team immediately tells you everything you need to know.

“I won’t say that this is a Golden Generation of Greek players – I know you love that description in England – but it’s a very good generation.

“And they’re playing the kind of football that Greek sides haven’t traditionally played in the past.

“That’s exciting, not just for the fans but for these players as well.”

Bigger tests await, not just at club level on the international stage, with Greece having failed to qualify for a major tournament since 2014.

By the time the group stage is over, Greece – currently ranked 46 in the world – should have a better idea of their global standing.

For Tzolis and Kostoulas, though, the only way is up.