FOOTBALL Live

Wednesday June 18, 2008 Finished Stadion Salzburg

Logo 1 - Logo 2

Greece

  • Charisteas 42’

Spain

  • De la Red 61’
  • Guiza 88’
  1. Spain maintain winning habit

    Spain maintain winning habit

    Spain maintained their 100 percent record in Euro 2008 Group D with a 2-1 win over reigning champions Greece in Salzburg. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Greece
    • Spain
    • 90+3' The end of Greece's European defence - although technically that was over in game two - as Webb blows up to end the match. Nikopolidis and Antzas say goodbye to their loyal fans, who will cherish their memories from Portugal - but not Austria.
    • 90' Alonso forces a late corner after his shot is blocked. It looks like his Spain team will make it three out of three, the third team to do so after the Netherlands and Croatia. And Greece will be the only side not to score a point.
    • 88' GOAL FOR SPAIN!!! Guiza scores his first international goal with his head after a great cross from the cultured left foot of Garcia.
    • 87' Greece also looking to score themselves... but hold on...
    • 85' The match winding down, but no one told Spain - Nikopolidis forced to pull off another save.
    • 83' Spain throw away several chances, the last of which is shanked way over the bar from the corner of the box by Garcia. The commentator's words, not mine. Soon after the pony-tailed one has another dig, a low effort that Nikopolidis grasps close.
    • 80' Greece striker Amanatidis snatches at a shot only 10 yards out and misses the target. His fans are right there behind the goal, shaking their heads.
    • 77' Garcia with a darting run towards the right side of the six-yard box and lifts the ball over Nikopolidis... and past the far post. There was no one arriving to finish it off.
    • 75' Guiza and De la Red exchange passes before the latter smashes over the top. Poor shot - but great build-up play.
    • 74' Geeece change: Alexis Tziolis, one of the younger players, on for Karagounis.
    • 73' Guiza flashes a shot across goal after finding space behind the Greek defence. He should have hit the target.
    • 71' Angelos Basinas heaves into a late tackle upon Guiza on halfway, earning a yellow card. Deserved.
    • 69' Charisteas is down hurt after taking a bang to the head. Juanito it was, a complete accident.
    • 68' Spain on the ball now, passing with confidence. They win a corner.
    • 64' Amanatidis plays a ball down the channel for Charisteas, who rounds Reina and shoots... off the outside of the post! So close to another goal for Greece.
    • 62' Greece change: Kyrgiakos is replaced by Paraskevas Antzas. A last cap for him.
    • 61' Fabregas dinked a cross from the centre of midfield that Guiza nodded down and the Real Madrid man banged it with immense power, via a deflection off the hand of a shocked Nikopolidis, off the crossbar and in. STRIKER!!!
    • 61' GOAL FOR SPAIN!!! THE EQUALISER SCORED BY DE LA RED!!
    • 60' Charisteas earns some space on the right and gets the ball inside to Amanatidis, whose shot for Greece is blocked.
    • 58' Spain change: Iniesta is replaced by Santi Cazorla.
    • 56' Fabregas almost works a ball through, headed away by Dellas... a few minutes ago the big Greek defender did well to turn and feed a cross into the box at the other end.
    • 53' ALONSO STRIKES FROM 35 YARDS AGAINST THE INSIDE OF THE POST AND OUT FOR A GOAL-KICK ON THE OTHER SIDE!!! What does that man have to do to score tonight?
    • 51' A ball into the Spain box loops up off someone and Ioannis Amanatidis is there as it comes down 10 yards out... the flag goes up as he heads at goal.
    • 50' The Greek supporters are enjoying their final match this summer, while their Spanish counterparts are a bit subdued.
    • 48' A second goal in the other match, a crucial one of course - and it has gone to... drum roll... Russia again! It looks like they will get the chance to play the Netherlands in the last eight.
    • 47' Early pressure from Spain ends when Sotirios Kyrgiakos blocks a rasping drive from De la Red - with the back of his head. That's gotta hurt.
    • 46' Off we go in the second half, Greece now kicking to our right.
    • 45+3' No card for Alonso and the half ends soon after. Incidentally, Karagounis's booking makes it six for him at European Championships, a new record - and they have only come at two finals. Good work.
    • 45+2' Karagounis is felled from behind and as he rolls, Alonso runs up and belts the ball into his face!! Bedlam ensues for a moment - that was very harsh by the Liverpool midfielder. Ouch.
    • 45' Into injury time and Spain are still angry. Why, oh why? Chill out boys - you could win these Euros if you concentrate your efforts!!
    • 44' Arbeloa booked now for Spain. Why do they get caught up in it? They are already through as group winners!
    • 42' Karagounis's cross again it was, where have we seen that combination before? The marking was non-existent from Spain.
    • 42' GOAL FOR GREECE!!!!!! Charisteas rose in the box to nod home a free-kick and those fans behind the other goal go beserk!!
    • 41' Guiza commits a foul near the box and argues his way into the book. So typically Spanish - you cannot deny it. They are still annoyed about that penalty shout, which by the way was judged correctly by the official.
    • 40' Iniesta makes his way into the penalty area for Spain with a one-two and goes down... no penalty (this time) from Mister Webb, which riles the Spanish.
    • 39' A delightful chipped ball into the box from Fabregas is controlled by Garcia but he is tackled before he can shoot. Close to the first goal.
    • 38' England is represented here in Salzburg by referee Howard Webb - he has had a good game so far, with little in the way of controversy to worry about. He is no stranger to that in these finals, of course.
    • 36' By the way, I forgot to mention that there has been a goal in Innsbruck - Russia are beating Sweden. Click on the link to see the latest from our man covering that match.
    • 34' Karagounis is yellow-carded after a horrible tackle on Iniesta that puts an end to a stunning, slick passing move from the back. Fernando Navarro, who today signed for Sevilla, was also involved in the move.
    • 33' De la Red feeds Iniesta, who returns the ball... his shot spirals away from goal. Poor effort.
    • 31' Karagounis with a silly shove on Garcia in the corner flag to give away a free-kick. There was no need, although the Zaragoza forward did go down easy.
    • 28' Not to be outdone, Guiza lets fly with an even worse effort at the other end.
    • 27' Greece captain Angelos Basinas sets up Angelos Charisteas for a dig... it is high, wide and ugly as hell.
    • 25' The grey-haired shot-stopper is fine though after a bit of the magic sponge. It would be a shame to see him say goodbye like that.
    • 24' Nikopolidis took a thump against the post as he leaped back futilely. Rehhagel shakes his head - more bad news, I'm afraid, Otto.
    • 23' ALONSO FROM HIS OWN HALF... ITS DIPPING... IT WILL BEAT NIKOPOLIDIS... AND DROP A FRACTION WIDE!!! What a shot!! That was Pele-esqe, closer than the great man's effort. Genius.
    • 22' Kostas Katsouranis is hurt and Spain put the ball out. He is okay to continue.
    • 21' Garcia cannot quite poke a ball through the Greece defensive unit. Will they break them down in this half as we near its halfway point?
    • 19' Speaking of Barca, the only man to start this game that also starred in the first match is midfielder Andres Iniesta. He is always involved in the passing moves, enough so to keep the sublime Fabregas out of the side in big games.
    • 17' Spain with plenty of the ball again, but not looking to attack with any urgency. They should get into the practice of it - anyone who saw Barcelona play in this style last year will understand what I mean. Italy's tails will be up in the last eight and the Spanish will need all their nerve to avoid another debilitating quarter-final exit.
    • 15' Greece goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis and defender Paraskevas Antzas - the latter on the bench tonight - have announced their retirement after this match. Their partisan followers will cheer them to the end.
    • 13' Two free-kicks to Greece in an advanced position, both taken by Karagounis... Raul Albiol gets a head on the second at a crucial moment. An interesting encounter developing with these contrasting styles.
    • 11' Greece winning some territorial posession but yet to make it pay. They are again keen to get the ball into the opposition box at the earliest opportunity.
    • 9' Xabi Alonso pinging the passes around, in his element. Another Liverpool star - like Reina and Alvaro Arbeloa - given a first start in this tournament.
    • 7' Guiza has had a brilliant season for Mallorca, knocking in almost 30 goals. A big-money move beckons this summer. Here he chases a ball fruitlessly.
    • 5' Traianos Dellas with an acrobatic flying kick at the far post from a free-kick as De la Red shows the other side of their national game - shocking defending. He just left him alone. Luckily for him, Dellas didn't connect properly and replacement 'keeper Jose Reina claimed easily.
    • 4' Already Spain are knocking the ball about like a relaxed five-a-side match. Greece defend them on the Spanish left flank this time.
    • 2' An early chance for one of the 10 Spain changes: Ruben De la Red scuffs wide following a tidy pull-back from Fabregas. Sergio Garcia touched it first and put him off.
    • 1' The match is under way, Spain in red and black kicking from left to right. Greece in all white.
    • - National stereotype number two: the constant passing of the Spain national side in midfield reminds me of weekends playing in Madrid leagues. Pass, pass, pass, making me run around like a fool. But you've gotta love it.
    • - The teams are on the field and belting out their national anthems - I remember eating in a Greek restaurant a week after their Euro 2004 triumph: it was just crazy, the manager of the place was loving the attention too and dishing out the shots of Ouzo. Good times.
    • - Giorgos Karagounis is recalled to Greece's starting XI. Can he inspire the team to victory finally after a disappointing campaign? Otto Rehhagel has again left out familiar faces Stelios Giannakopoulos and Georgios Samaras.
    • - In the other Group D encounter this evening Russia face Sweden for the chance to join 'La Furia Roja' in the next stage. We have comments on that for you too of course - why not open two windows and follow the action side by side?
    • - Many Spanish players are rested tonight, with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas given a start in a five-man midfield and Mallorca sensation Dani Guiza up front alone. This is their chance to prove that they should play a part in the last-eight clash against Italy.
    • - Greece have failed to live up to their unlikely exploits in Portugal four years ago, but their heroic fans will give them a send-off tonight nonetheless.
    • - Luis Aragones's men have been impressive in Austria and Switzerland, hammering Russia 4-1 and beating Sweden 2-1 to guarantee their passage early - thanks to an injury-time David Villa winner and a hat-trick for the Valencia striker in the first match.
    • - The teams are in: Greece: Nikopolidis, Vyntra, Kyrgiakos, Dellas, Spyropoulos, Basinas, Karagounis, Katsouranis, Salpigidis, Charisteas, Amanatidis; Subs: Chalkias, Tzorvas, Samaras, Giannakopoulos, Goumas, Antzas, Tziolis, Liberopoulos. Spain: Reina, Arbeloa, Albiol, Juanito, Fernando Navarro, Sergio Ramos, De la Red, Alonso, Iniesta, Fabregas, Guiza; Subs: Casillas, Palop, Capdevila, Marchena, Puyol, Villa, Xavi, Torres, Santi Cazorla, Senna, Silva. Referee: Howard Webb (England).
    • - By contrast Spain have won both of their group matches and are looking to become the third country in the finals to maintain a 100 percent record over their three matches in the first phase.
    • - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.co.uk's LIVE text coverage of Greece versus Spain in a meaningless Euro 2008 Group D encounter - the final one that the reigning champions will contest.

  • Team Stats

    Greece Stats Spain
    38% Possession 62%
    12 Shots 22
    1 Shots on target 4
    0 Saves 0
    1 Corners 5
    18 Fouls 16
    3 Offsides 1
    3 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    28 Tackles 20
    230 Accurate passes 437
    39 Bad passes 57

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Greece
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Antonis Nikopolidis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 0
      5 Traianos Dellas 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 1 0
      4 Nikos Spyropoulos 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 23 6 3
      11 Loukas Vintra 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 17 1 6
      16 Sotirios Kyrgiakos 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 2 1
      10 Giorgios Karagounis 0 1 0 6 5 0 1 16 2 2
      21 Kostas Katsouranis 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 32 4 5
      6 Angelos Basinas 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 33 3 3
      9 Angelos Charisteas 1 3 1 0 4 0 0 21 4 1
      14 Dimitrios Salpingidis 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 9 1 3
      20 Ioannis Amanatidis 0 5 0 2 1 2 0 22 10 2
      23 Nikos Liberopoulos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      12 Konstantinos Chalkias 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      22 Alexandros Tziolis 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 10 0 1
      8 Stelios Giannakopoulos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
      19 Paraskevas Antzas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1
      7 Georgios Samaras 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      18 Giannis Goumas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      13 Alexandros Tzorvas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Spain
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      23 Jose Reina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1 0
      2 Raul Albiol Raul Albiol 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 29 1 0
      3 Fernando Navarro 0 0 0 5 2 0 0 45 13 5
      18 Alvaro Arbeloa 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 24 1 3
      20 Juan Gutiérrez Moreno 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 31 3 1
      10 Francesc Fabregas 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 68 10 3
      22 Rubén De la Red 1 7 1 1 0 0 0 61 11 3
      14 Xabi Alonso 0 4 0 1 1 0 0 72 9 3
      6 Andres Iniesta 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 29 2 1
      17 Daniel Güiza 1 5 2 2 2 1 1 16 2 0
      16 Sergio Garcia 0 4 1 2 5 0 1 33 0 0
      12 Santi Cazorla 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 4 1
      5 Carles Puyol 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 David Silva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      11 Joan Capdevila 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      4 Carlos Marchena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      19 Marcos Senna 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      9 Fernando Torres 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      1 Iker Casillas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      15 Sergio Ramos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      8 Xavi Hernández 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      13 Andrés Palop 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      7 David Villa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 88' GOAL FOR SPAIN!!! Guiza scores his first international goal with his head after a great cross from the cultured left foot of Garcia.
    • 73' Guiza flashes a shot across goal after finding space behind the Greek defence. He should have hit the target.
    • 64' Amanatidis plays a ball down the channel for Charisteas, who rounds Reina and shoots... off the outside of the post! So close to another goal for Greece.
    • 61' GOAL FOR SPAIN!!! THE EQUALISER SCORED BY DE LA RED!!
    • 53' ALONSO STRIKES FROM 35 YARDS AGAINST THE INSIDE OF THE POST AND OUT FOR A GOAL-KICK ON THE OTHER SIDE!!! What does that man have to do to score tonight?
    • 42' GOAL FOR GREECE!!!!!! Charisteas rose in the box to nod home a free-kick and those fans behind the other goal go beserk!!
    • 23' ALONSO FROM HIS OWN HALF... ITS DIPPING... IT WILL BEAT NIKOPOLIDIS... AND DROP A FRACTION WIDE!!! What a shot!! That was Pele-esqe, closer than the great man's effort. Genius.
    • 5' Traianos Dellas with an acrobatic flying kick at the far post from a free-kick as De la Red shows the other side of their national game - shocking defending. He just left him alone. Luckily for him, Dellas didn't connect properly and replacement 'keeper Jose Reina claimed easily.
    • - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.co.uk's LIVE text coverage of Greece versus Spain in a meaningless Euro 2008 Group D encounter - the final one that the reigning champions will contest.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Howard Webb

  • Greece

    Manager: Otto Rehhagel

    Captain: Angelos Basinas

    Starting line-up

    • A. Nikopolidis
    • L. Vyntra Yellow Card
    • S. Kyrgiakos Substitution Out (61′)
    • T. Dellas
    • N. Spiropoulos
    • A. Basinas Yellow Card
    • K. Katsouranis
    • D. Salpingidis Substitution Out (86′)
    • G. Karagounis Yellow Card Substitution Out (74′)
    • I. Amanatidis
    • A. Charisteas Goal

    Subs

    • C. Patsatzoglou
    • N. Liberopoulos
    • I. Goumas
    • P. Antzas Substitution In61′
    • K. Chalkias
    • S. Giannakopoulos Substitution In86′
    • A. Tziolis Substitution In74′
    • G. Samaras
    • V. Torossidis
    • A. Tzorvas

    Injured

    • G. Seitaridis
    • T. Gekas

    Suspended

    None

  • Spain

    Manager: Luis Aragonés

    Starting line-up

    • J. Reina
    • &. Arbeloa Yellow Card
    • R. Albiol
    • .. Juanito
    • F. Navarro
    • X. Alonso
    • R. De la Red Goal
    • S. García
    • C. Fabregas
    • A. Iniesta Substitution Out (58′)
    • D. Guiza Goal Yellow Card

    Subs

    • 5. C. Puyol
    • 1. I. Casillas
    • 8. .. Xavi
    • 11. J. Capdevila
    • 13. A. Palop
    • 4. C. Marchena
    • 9. F. Torres
    • 19. M. Senna
    • 15. S. Ramos
    • 7. D. Villa
    • 12. S. Cazorla Substitution In58′
    • 21. D. Silva

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None