International Career
He was called for duty for the U-19 Greece team to participate in the Elite round of the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. He participated in all three group games against Moldova, Netherlands and Russia, helping Greece finish top and qualify for the finals.
Papadopoulos featured at the heart of the Greek defence in the finals tournament and was partners with team-mate Konstantinos Lambropoulos. He was instrumental in keeping a clean sheet against the Czech Republic, as well as good performances against England and Italy. His performances attracted attention from scouts of teams such Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC.
The teams were impressed with the defender's maturity in a competition in which he was the youngest player by 13 months. Despite being the youngest player in the tournament, he was also one of the 10 most talented players in Europe as considered by UEFA in their UEFA U19 Team of the Tournament.
Otto Rehhagel is also said to have been impressed with the youngster's performances, and has met with EPO officials to talk about moving Papadopoulos to the senior team.
Having done an excellent year with Schalke 04, on 4 June 2011 the head coach of the Greek national football team, Fernando Santos called him for the first time on the men's national football team, in a match against Malta. Due to Avraam Papadopoulos injury and Sokratis Papastathopoulos inability to play, he took place in the squad next to Vangelis Moras. Not only did he have an excellent game, but he also scored the second goal of his team. On 6 September 2011, he scored his second international goal against Latvia in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualification.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 June 2011 | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece | Malta | 2–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 2. | 6 September 2011 | Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia | Latvia | 1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 3. | 31 May 2012 | Kufstein Arena, Kufstein, Austria | Armenia | 0–1 | 0–1 | Friendly |
| 4. | 15 August 2012 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Norway | Norway | 0–2 | 2–3 | Friendly |
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