All group A teams are on a similar level, so Greece won't be easier than Russia, Poland or the Czechs; but the game might be painful to watch. However, Germany isn't through yet, and we have to play Denmark first.
congratulations to GREECE deserved to win and it was time to wake up!! samaras dribbling today was unbeleivable!!! karagounis goal -player of the match!!
kangaroooos hey mate showing so much hatred here and there for greece,as an aussie its good for you to just watch AFL,its better for ya. greece won EURO 2004 were unbeaten for 16 in a row matches just before this tournament are in the best 8 in EURO 2012 ..are in the top 15 world FIFA ranking! hey mate just watch AFL. today we beat russia!! ANTE ELLADARA
I'd be celebrating if England were playing Greece in the 1/4 finals, let alone Germany. Greece are the worst team who will qualify. I have watched all the games from that group, and Germany got a lucky escape avoiding the Russians in my opinion.
Let's wait until tomorrow, but I have a different idea of "a lucky escape" than a tournament path with the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark at the group stage. However, Germany vs. Greece has been played before; not much action in 90 minutes: I'd like to have a more lively quarterfinal.
we have conceded 3 goals in 113' that chalkias played we have conceded 0 goals in 157' that an actual goalkeeper featured for us it was just enough to field eleven players and everyone saw the real face of the greek team ps
Gz to Greece, they deserved the win. The Russians were horribly overrated by many after their 4-1 against the Czech.
if greece can beat russia, why should germany be afraid facing russia? we beat portugal and netherlands, ANY team from group A in quartel finals is beatable for us. you keep contradicting yourself if you say russian would have a chance against germany and the same time they lose against "the worst team who will qualify".
No they weren't. They were easily the best team in the group. Major choke-job by the Russians to lose to Greece.
Because Russia have the potential on their day to beat most teams and score goals. Did you see the chances they missed against Greece? Many just past the post. I'd certainly be far far more scared facing Russia than Greece as an England fan. It's a shame we won't see more of them.
Karagounis is the heart and soul of Greece. No doubt. As a Greek-American, I'm proud of the way they persevered. Many calls went against them, and they still advanced. After 2004, nobody should ever count the Greeks out. HELLAS OLE!
as a fan of germany i have to say i'm not scared of any team so far. if germany had faced russia in quartel finals and lost to them, they would not deserve to play for the title anyway. we have high expectations as germans. the title or nothing. as a big football nation it does not matter if you lose in quarter final or semi final. if we win against greece in quarterfinal and lose againt italy/spain in semi final or dont pass quarterfinal and lose to russia is no real difference for me.. maybe a smaller nation would say "yeah we lost, but hey look at us how far we can go in a tournament" (like turkey 2008). but that doesnt work for us anymore. we are no underdogs. the world knows we are good. only the title counts.
So you're not scared of Spain? They do look beatable if tactics like Italy are used or physical strength
Russia was Group A's top team and all teams have their unlikely losses. I think Germany wouldn't have a problem with Russia, though. They'd make a beautiful game but Germany would advance. I only say that because Germany has been so successful so far.
The Greeks defended very well and with a lot of effort. Samaras surprised me with some of his forward play because he looks rubbish on paper, and was very poor in the game vs. Poland. The Greek front-line players tracked back and worked hard to frustrate the Russians. The Russians lacked the slickness from the game vs. Czechoslovakia - they were rather slow and looked tired. Their strategy of trying to penetrate the Greeks through the middle was a mistaken one. There should have been a lot more wing play and crosses from the flanks. Kerzhakov has been disappointing in these games - he's capable of so much more. Russia's standout flop for me is Zhirkov, who was calamitous in this game. The result is a disappointing one: the Greeks are the Stoke City of this cup who park the bus and get the odd goal based on luck. This Russia-Greece game was very Arsenal vs. Stoke City for me. From a neutral perspective, it would have been better for the cup if Poland and Russia advanced because they would be much more competitive against Germany and the Group B teams.
Greece: gave up 3 terrible goals, missed a penalty, man unjustly sent off, starting CB injured, obvious penalty no call = still qualified.
Greece parked the bus only in the last 15 minutes against russia, which was the right thing to do at that time.(and still samaras and ninis were as high as the russian defenders) The 3 goals that we conceded were a result of: 1)tragic kostas chalkias as the goalkeeper 2)midfielders not marking and letting the right full back overlap the goals were a result of a situation exactly the opposite of parking the bus. And the Greek team doesn't defend that much in 2012, but the defending line is far more better than the attacking or midfield line or the goalkeeping options. So one sees papastathopoulos or papadopoulos defending excellent, while others lines are not something special and so one thinks that greece is defending by choice,but actually that is the only tactic option for us This happens because training techniques in Greece are(/were) pretty much awful and we didn't have attacking midfielders or attackers with good technique(except Tsiartas some years ago). If ninis,fetfatzidis,fortounis evolve and stabilize their performances at high level then in the future greece will show far more attacking football but for the time being, anyone who thinks greece should play a different kind of football then he should know that the tactic should fit the players and not the players trying to change their game only for a supposed nicer,more attacking tactic(it's the same with AVB and chelsea,he tried to play a beautiful attacking football but didn't have the right players for that)
If two teams are tied after the 3 games then the team that qualifies is the one that won the game betwwen those two teams. So greece is tied with russia. Greece won Russia so Greece qualifies... In FIFA tournaments i think that the first tie-breaker is goal difference and not the result betweeen the two teams but in UEFA tournaments it's different
Good counter (even though he's probably half Romanian)! Congrats to Hellas on this little sensation, your guys fighted like lions for their country (which is facing very tough times lately). Kudos! Well, never underestimate the proud Greeks...
Because they choked. What I'm responding to is the post that said that they were overrated. Pound-for-pound, they easily had the best team in the group.