Saturday, 14 June 2008
Day eight of GroundReport’s exclusive on-the-ground coverage of Euro2008.
Euro2004 winners Greece will be returning home early from the Central Alps after a disappointing outing against the Russians in Salzburg today saw them goalless in two games.
The Greeks are only the fourth team in Euro tournament history to be eliminated in the group stage following a title run in the previous tournament, and the first to do so in just two matches.
Spain officially clinch top-seed in Group D as a result of today’s fixtures, and Sweden and Russia have all to fight for in their upcoming do-or-die match for the remaining quarterfinal berth this coming Wednesday.
Both teams kept play lively throughout most of the match. Russia created the first chance of the game in the 14th minute, when Roman Pavluchenko caused Greek keeper Antonis Nikolidis to come up with a fine finger-tip save to keep the Spartak Moscow striker’s ten yard chip from going into the top-right corner of the net.
The Greeks then came tantalizingly close to opening the scoring in the 25th minute, when a free-kick 25 yards out nearly found striker Angelos Charisteas un-marked at the edge of the six-yard box, with no one but the keeper behind him.
In the 33rd minute, Nikopolidis cost his side a goal after questionably going after an over-hit cross from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. Sergei Semak beat the Greek captain to the spot, however, and all the Russian winger had to do was flick it back into the middle of the box for Konstatin Zurianov to tap into the wide open net.
Pavluchenko continued to wreak havoc for the Greek defense throughout the second half, thundering a glorious Bilyaletdinov through-ball into the side netting in the 47th minute, and then setting up Bilyaletdinov with a clever backheel for a shot in the same exact shot with the same exact result in the 56th.
Greece to their credit had a couple chances to equalize in the second half as well, including one three minutes from full-time that was disallowed because of another controversial offside call. Tired and discouraged, the Greeks could not find the spark or muster the creativity to come back, however, and the former winners saw themselves knocked out of the tournament at the final whistle.
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