Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Fortaleza: Greece made it to the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time in their history as Georgios Samaras converted a stoppage-time penalty to seal a dramatic 2-1 win over the Cote d'Ivoire on Tuesday.
Samaras coolly converted the 92nd minute spot-kick – awarded after the former Celtic star was fouled in the area by Giovanni Sio – to send the Greeks through to the Round of 16 alongside Colombia, who ended top of the group with a 100% record following their 4-1 win over Japan in the other Group C encounter that kicked-off simultaneously in Cuiaba.
Substitute Andreas Samaris, a 12th minute replacement for the injured Panagiotis Kone, put Greece 1-0 up three minutes from the interval before Wilfried Bony's composed 74th minute equaliser looked to have been enough to take the Africans through.
However, the late drama at the Estadio Castelao turned the tie in favour of the Euro 2004 champions who will now meet fellow surprise package Costa Rica in the Round of 16 on Sunday.
Photo: AFP