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WC MOTD: Greece 2-1 Ivory Coast – Greece Go Through With Late Penalty Drama

By on June 24, 2014

Georgios Samaras helped Greece make their own bit of World Cup history as the 2004 European Champions saw off the Ivory Coast in the dying embers of a dramatic match.

The Elephants were expected to cruise through against a Greece side who had failed to win their last seven World Cup games, and they started quickly as Didier Drogba and Gervinho both had early chances in what was a largely uneventful first half-hour. To make it worse for the Greece, they lost Panagiotos Kone and goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis to injury, and Jose Holebas subsequently hit the Ivorian bar.

The game sparked into life when on the stoke of half-time substitute Andreas Samaris calmly slotted home, after a defensive mistake from Cheik Tiote had presented him with a chance. It was little less than Greece deserved, having comfortably nullified Ivory Coast’s attacking threat since the quarter-hour mark.

Ivory Coast came out in the second half with similar invention, and looked flat until the introduction of Wilfried Bony with half an hour to go. Georgios Karagounis is almost put Greece out of sight with a thunderbolt from thirty yards striking the crossbar, but Greece’s defense was finally breached after Gervinho was allowed to slide a ball across to Bony, who made light work of slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

However, the tension in the Ivorian defense was noticeable and it wasn’t long before Greece had them under pressure. A pull back from the left wing had Samaras about to strike before Geoffrey Sio clumsily brought him down. Samaras coolly dispatched the kick to send the Greeks into the last 16.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.