The Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, overthrowing the Ottoman rule and became the first Balkan and European nation to set free themselves from the Turks.

[1][2] By that time, the Greek identity was soon strengthened and a number of conflicts occurred between Turkey and Greece existed from the 1830s onward.

In 1919, with the collapse of the Ottoman state, Greece attempted to conquer Western Turkey, in their accordance to the Megali Idea, and both the Greeks and Turks caused atrocities on each other.

[3] Efforts from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Eleftherios Venizelos helped establish official relations between Greece and Turkey.

[5] Both teams are also described as "punching above their weights", due to their successes despite lack of competitive history in football.