A last minute penalty by Georgios 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 yesterday.
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.
Greece again showed they play best when the odds are stacked against them as they overcame having to replace two key players including goalkeeper Orestis Karlezis inside the first 25 minutes.
