came on as a substitute and scored Greece's first goal in the Euro 2012 tournament, in the opening match, a 1–1 draw against Poland, becoming the first ever Greek player who scored in both the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro. Later in the quarterfinals against Germany, he assisted Giorgos Samaras' goal and also scored the last goal with a penalty against Manuel Neuer, a match that ended 4–2, resulting Germany proceeding to the semi-finals. Salpingidis’ next goal is to reach new international heights in Brazil three months from now, with Colombia, Japan and Côte d'Ivoire awaiting Greece as Group C opponents. “Of course, my team-mates and I are already very excited,” he explained. “We can’t wait – it’s the biggest and best tournament in the world, and it’ll be a huge football party. Every child dreams of playing at a World Cup.” The forward continued: “I hope I can enjoy it. We were in South Africa four years ago and won the first World Cup match in our history there, but we went out after the group stage. This time, our aim is to reach the last 16. We’re in a finely balanced group with no major favourites. It won’t be easy, but we can do it.” Yet Salpingidis, who with four goals from nine games was his country's second-highest scoring player in qualifying, does not want to hog the spotlight. “I’m nothing special in the team, just a part in the machine,” he stressed. “We don’t have any huge stars; we’re all the same and all have one target.” Career statistics Club International Career totals Honours Club PAOK Greek Cup: 2002–03; runner-up: 2013–14 Panathinaikos Super League Greece: 2009–10 Greek Cup: 2009–10; runner-up: 2006–07 Individual Gamma Ethniki Top Scorer: 2001–02 Super League Greece Top Scorer: 2005–06 Greek Footballer of the year: 2007–08, 2008–09 PAOK MVP of the Season: 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06 References External links Profile at Hellenic Football Federation 1981 births Living people Association football wingers Association football forwards Greek footballers Greece international footballers Greece under-21 international footballers Panathinaikos F.C. players PAOK FC players Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Kavala F.C. players UEFA Euro 2008 players UEFA Euro 2012 players People from Thessaloniki (regional unit) Super League Greece players Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Greece 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players