Greece will stick to its trademark defensive tactics against Argentina despite its slim chances of getting out the group without a win, midfielder Thanassis Prittas said.

Prittas said the team would concentrate on avoiding an early Argentina goal and rely on counter attacks Tuesday, hoping to exploit weaknesses in their opponents' defense.

"Their main strength is their very powerful attacking line. The quality of their defense does not match their attack," said Prittas, who didn't play in the first two World Cup games. "We have to be very careful to watch our defense, preserve the clean sheet for as long as possible, and try and make use of counter attacks. If we surprise them and score a goal, then the game might take a different turn."

Prittas, who plays club football at Aris Thessaloniki under Argentine coach Hector Raul Cuper, said Greece was likely to put markers against dangerous opponents like Lionel Messi, if he plays in Tuesday's game.

The defensive Greeks kept their hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in their second game, after losing the opener 2-0 to South Korea. Argentina has six points and only needs a draw to guarantee advancement. South Korea has three points and Nigeria zero.

On Sunday, captain Giorgos Karagounis and key defender Vassilis Torosidis returned to regular training and were declared fit by team officials after picking up knocks in the Nigeria game.

Defender Avraam Papadopoulos trained on the sidelines. Team officials said he had a minor injury but gave no other details.

Greek players said they were not encouraged by reports that Diego Maradona may keep several key players on the bench.

"I don't know if Argentina will see this as an indifferent game or not. And it doesn't really matter," defender Stelios Malezas said. "It doesn't matter if the first-choice players are on the field on not ... We're not up against one good player but 11. Any one of those players can cause us problems."

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