Greece picks interim coach for friendly with Serbia

Athens: Under-21 coach Kostas Tsanas will be in charge of Greece on Tuesday in a friendly against Serbia, replacing Claudio Ranieri who was sacked from the position on Saturday, the Greek football federation announced Sunday.

Italian Ranieri was sent packing the day after a humiliating 1-0 home loss to the Faroe Islands in a Euro 2016 qualifier played on Friday.

Originally he had been expected to coach the national squad for a final time in the friendly against Serbia, but the federation, fearful of a negative reaction from fans, opted for 47-year-old Tsanas instead.

The federation has said it is in the process of looking for a replacement for Ranieri and the local media have speculated on two Greek coaches, Giorgos Donis who is currently at APOEL in Cyprus and Angelos Anastasiadis who is with PAOK Salonica.