A 90th minute penalty put Greece through to the 2014 FIFA World Cup knock-out stage in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in Group C match played at Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza, on Tuesday.
Greece was on the brink of scoring the leading goal in the 33rd minute when their forward Jose Cholevas' shot hit the crossbar. Through the last minutes of the first half, Greece took the lead when 25-year-old forward Andreas Samaris found the net in one on one; 1-0.
Dominating the second half, Greece unexpectedly conceded an equaliser when Ivorian forward Wilfried Bony, assisted by Gervinho, put the ball in the back of the net in the 74th minute; 1-1.
In injury time Greece were awarded a controversial penalty kick when Ivorian attacker Giovanni Sio clipped Georgios Samaras in the area. Samaras successfully converted the penalty, clinching the victory for Greece; 2-1.
After this result Greece qualified for the Round of 16 whilst the African side missed the opportunity of advancing to the next round for the first time in their history.
In the other showdown of the group, leaders Colombia eased past Japan 4-1 at Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba, on Tuesday.
Colombian midfielder Juan Cuadrado scored a penalty in the 17th minute and made his team take the lead; 1-0. Japan equalised the level with their forward Shinji Okazaki during the injury time of the first half; 1-1.
Colombia were off to a flyer in the second half when their forward Jackson Martinez fired the ball into lower corner in the 55th minute; 2-1.
The South American side increased the gap to two after Martinez found the net in the box in the 82nd minute; 3-1. Rampant Colombia scored again in the 90th minute when their star James Rodriguez chipped the ball in the penalty area; 4-1.
After this result, Colombia advanced to Round of 16 as leaders, meanwhile Japan staying at the bottom of the group were eliminated.
Results in Group C are as follows:
Greece: 2 - Ivory Coast: 1
Japan: 1 - Colombia: 4
Standings in the group are as follows:
| Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|
| Colombia |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
9 |
| Greece |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
| Ivory Coast |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
| Japan |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
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