English

Hindi

FIFA World Cup 2014 Greece v/s Japan: Match ends in tame 0-0 draw as Japan fail to take advantage of 10-man Greece

Written By Pranav Joshi | Updated: Jun 20, 2014, 05:23 AM IST

FULL-TIME This rather uninspiring match has ended 0-0, and both teams will be very disappointed. The Greek skipper was sent off with a red card, but it was Japan who had most of the chances yet failed to convert them. They failed to break down Greece even after the latter was reduced to 10 men. Both teams still retain a slim chance of progression, but given how they have played, it looks unlikely in all frankness.

90 + 3' Konno of Japan commits a foul

90 + 1' Four minutes of stoppage time has been granted

90' The free kick is taken by Endo, his shot is on target, but the keeper dives to parry it away, and Japan can't get a second shot in

89' Torosidis of Greece handles the ball and is penalised with a yellow card, and Japan get a free kick

86' Yoshida of Japan commits a foul, is penalised

83' Uchida puts a decent cross into the box but again, the Japanese forwards cannot capitalise

81' Samaras takes poor aim and his aim for Greece is way off target

81' Greece take out Kone and get Salpingidis in

77' Okubo drills a fine effort towards the bottom corner, but the Greek keeper Karzenis gets low to his right and parries it away

76' Look at the possession - 73% to Japan, 27% to Greece. 14 total shots from Japan to Greece's 7. 402 completed passes to Greece's 104. Greece 10 men, Japan 11. And yet Japan cannot score. Shows you how they have failed to take their chances. Most of the finishes have been very poor.

75' Greece get a penalty but just like the rest of this match, the result is drab and uninspiring

72' A promising Japanese attack goes down the drain as Sokratis dribbles the ball in the penalty area. Uchida comes flying across with a tackle-shot but the ball ends wide of the goal.

68' A big miss for Japan! Japan's Uchida hits the ball across goal, presenting Okubo with a perfect opportunity to open the scoring, but he blazes over from close range, well into the crowd!

65' Cholevas of Greece challenges Honda of Japan and has conceded a free kick. A very rough game so far.

64' Maniatis is doing a great job in midfield for Greece tonight, unlike most others. He has not stopped running and always seems to be in the right place to break down the Japanese attack

62' Okubo of Japan is penalised after a foul

60' Kone of Greece sees an effort go badly off target. Japan surely must score soon, they have the advantage with Greece one man down 

57' Japan replace Osako with Kagawa. Osako gets huge applause from this very pro-Japan crowd

56' Georgias Samaras of Greece gets a yellow card

51' Honda receives the ball on the edge of the Greek box, but is quickly closed down and his stabbed effort is comfortably collected by Karnezis

50' Kone of Greece is penalised for committing a foul. A lot of fouls in this match so far

47' Cholevas of Greece concedes a foul after a challenge on Okubo of Japan

46' Yasuhito Endo is substituted by Japan for skipper Hasebe

HALF-TIME At half time, neither team have scored, but Japan will be the happier side, as they have continuously been on the attack and the Greek captain has been sent off with a red card. Japan have the best chance of a win now, as the Greek coach looks despondent.

45 + 2' Okazaki of Japan commits a handball

45 + 1' Great pass from the substitute Karagounis, but Torosidis can't quite get his body shape right and his header goes behind for a goal kick

45' The referee signals two minutes of stoppage time

40' WHAT A SAVE! Torosidis of Japan finds space on the edge of the Greek box and, after an attempted through ball is cut out and rebounds, he hammers a shot at goal. Kawashima dives to his left and saves it.

39' RED CARD! That's another foul by Katsouranis of Greece and he has been sent off with a red card. Greece down to 10 men.

35' Very early substitution as Gekas comes in for Mitroglou for Greece. Mitroglou was holding his hip a while ago after a tackle and he is obviously injured

33' A long ball from the left flank meets a nice header from the Japanese forward, but its over the goal. Okubo was the man with the header.

29' Free kick to Japan, Honda steps up and attempts a curling shot at the goal which the Greek keeper fumbles with. Karzenis parries and the ball is cleared at the second chance

27' Katsouranis of Greece is yellow carded. Maniatis shows a neat piece of skill and burst of pace down the right-hand side reminiscent of his days as a full-back, but the ball is eventually cleared. A cynical foul from Greece spoils the fun.

25' Osako again gets penalised for committing a foul

23' Japan in particular have looked like scoring, but the Greece keeper continues to do a good job as he blocks another shot, this time from Yoshida

21' Osako nearly gets a goal! He curls in an effort from about 20 yards, but finds the keeper who had to put in a dive

20' Samaras again gets penalised for committing a foul, but once again Japan cannot capitalise

20' The teams have managed just 5 shots on goal between them so far

19' Osako of Japan gets a free kick following a foul, but again Greece manage to thwart it

15' Keeper Katsouranis of Greece commits a foul via a challenge to Okubo, but then blocks Okubo's on target shot

13' Sokratis of Greece now commits a foul

12' Hasebe of Japan commits a foul and gets a yellow card

11' Kone takes a shot at the goal but it is blocked by the Japanese keeper 

8' Samaras of Greece commits a foul

7' An important interception from Greece's Manolas. He reads Honda's pass brilliantly and manages to step in and stop Osako from going through one-on-one with Karnezis

4' Hasebe of Japan concedes a free kick after a challenge on Kone, but Mitroglou can only fire it over the bar

2' Katsouranis of Greece commits a foul

KICK-OFF And the match begins as Japan kick off

The crowd are very lively and are singing something

The Greece anthem is underway

It's time for the national anthems. The Japanese anthem is first

The lineup for the Greece-Japan clash is out:

Greece v/s Japan is set to begin at 3:30 am IST after that high voltage England-Uruguay encounter.

Following defeats to Cote d'Ivoire and Colombia respectively, head coaches Alberto Zaccheroni and Fernando Santos know nothing but victory will suffice on Thursday. Greece and Japan will meet this Thursday in Natal forced to get a victory to keep their hopes of reaching the round of 16 following defeats at their opening matches against Colombia and Cote d'Ivoire. Read the complete Greece v/s Japan match preview here

The 2004 European champions Greece are appearing at a third World Cup in Brazil after 1994 and 2010 and their fifth major tournament in the last decade, thanks mainly to a mean defence and a ruthless counter-attacking trap. Only Spain (3) conceded less goals in the European qualifiers as trusty 'keeper Orestis Karnezis let in just four goals with Borussia Dortmund central defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and full-back Vasilis Torosidis having fought like 300 Spartans to get Greece to Brazil 2014. However, after their crushing 3-0 loss to Colombia, Greece must win this match to remain in contention. Here's the whole team preview for Greece

Giorgos Karagounis is the most experienced player and the most capped player in the Greek squad. He was a part of the Greek squad that won the 2004 UEFA Euro. Greece lost their opening World Cup game 3-0 to Colombia. Here's his player profile

The Ivory Coast side left Japan stunned with a dramatic comeback in Japan's last game. Japan will rely on their strength - possession - to win this match.