Ivory Coast 1
Greece 2
A LAST-MINUTE PENALTY from Giorgos Samaras gave Greece a place in the second round of the World Cup finals for the first time after a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast in Fortaleza on Tuesday.
Samaras’s penalty robbed the African side of the place in the last 16 as they had fought back to level at 1-1 through Wilfried Bony and were in sight of the point they required to go through.
Greece took the lead in the first-half through Andreas Samaris and Samaras’s late winner ensured they accompanied group winners Colombia, who thrashed Japan 4-1, into the knockout stages.
The penalty, awarded two minutes into stoppage time, had a touch of controversy to it. Samaras seemed to clip Giovanni Sio’s calf and then the turf but Ecuadorian referee Carlos Vera pointed to the spot. After a hold-up of almost 90 seconds, the former Celtic striker stepped up to side-foot home past Boubacar Barry.
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There was only time for the game to re-start as Vera soon blew up to consign Ivory Coast to World Cup 2014 history.
– © AFP, 2014 with additional reporting by Patrick McCarry