Otto Rehhagel immediately raises the voice, Greece after failing to qualify for the World Cup Korea - Japan 2002, with 2 races left in the group, already out, fired the coach Vassilis Daniel responsible for poor results, and engages the German coach Otto Rehhagel after a runoff with Marco Tardelli. The first game of Greece, under the new coach, sees the Hellenic Natioanl Team committed in Finland against the national of Lithmanen, lost 5-1. Rehhagel is immediately furious and polemic against the team, unable to react in the field, speaks the following words: "In all my years of career I have never seen a team without the will to fight". The iron sergeant immediately starts a real revolution, he complains about the low turnout from the people at the stadium during games in Greece.
First make the team play all the matches of the qualifying stage Leoforo - Appostolos Nikolaos owned by Panathinaikos of Athens, with capacity reduced in order to hear the public closer to the team. For a period not convene major players of teams like Olympiakos Piraeus, drawing fierce criticism, to which the coach replies "Here play only the best". In the last match of qualifying round of the World for Korea-Japan, Greece is now out of the running for qualification to the Korea-Japan World in summer 2002 and they have to play against England of Beckham and there are important change. Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos Olympiakos Piraeus lost his place on the post, replaced by Antonis Nikopolidis of Panathinaikos Athens and Nikos Nikos Liberopoulos of Panathinaikos is out of the team, Machlas no longer holds, but on the bench. Vassilios Tsartas not initially be convened, while Angelos Basinas must accommodate for the moment on the bench.
Akis Zikos, (Aek Athens) Alexios Alexandris and the former Inter Milan Grigoris Georgatos (Olympiakos Piraeus) will no longer be summoned. From the initial team there are only Theodoros Zagorakis (AEK Athens), Nikos Dabizas (Newcastle United), Panagiotis Fyssas and Giorgios Karagounis (Panathinaikos Athens),
There are the first new players, Angelos Charisteas in attack (Aris Thessaloniki), Themistoklis Nikolaidis (AEK Athens) in defense Costas Konstantinidis (Bolton Wanderes) and Patsatzoglou (Olympiakos Piraeus). On the bench there are Konstantinos Chalkias (Iraklis Thessaloniki), Venetidis (Olympiakos Piraeus), Georgiadis (PAOK Salonika), and not to their first appearance Vassilios Lakis (AEK Athens), the same Machlas (Ajax Amsterdam), Zizis Vrizas (Perugia).
Greece show immediately its new team and the 30th minute took the lead with Angelos Charisteas, the Britishs did not believe their eyes.Erickson let in Sheringham and immediately equalized, but there is no even the time for celebration that Themistoklis Nikolaidis scored for Greece 2-1 taking the lead, freezing all stadium and Eriksson, if England had lost it would have been out of the World, but as often happens, England equalized at the 95th minute with a Beckham free-kick. It remains the great match of the Hellenes who had never scored from open play in England and scared England of Beckham Since this game comes the Greek national who graduated from European Champion, reached the 7th position in the Fifa rankings.

ENGLAND - GREECE 2-2 (Old Traffort, Manchester - 21 October 2001)
	England: Nigel Martyn, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Martin Keown, Ashley Cole, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Nick Barmby, Robbie Fowler, Emile Heskey. Subs: Gareth Southgate, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Jamie Carragher, Murphy, Steve McManaman, Teddy Sheringham, Andy Cole.
	Greece: Antonis Nikopolidis, Christos Patsatzoglou, Nikolaos Dabizas, Leonidas Vokolos, Costas Konstantinidis, Panagiotis Fyssas, Theodoros Zagorakis, Michalis Kapsis, Giorgios Karagounis, Angelos Charisteas, Themistoklis Nikolaidis. Subs: Stylianos Venetidis, Angelos Basinas, Georgios Georgiadis, Kostantinos Chalkias, Vassilis Lakis, Nikos Machlas, Zizis Vrizas.
Goal:	Angelos Charisteas 47’(G), Teddy Sheringham (I), Themistoklis Nikolaidis (G), David Beckham (I)
Referee:	Dick Jol (Dutch)