Georgios Samaras converted a stoppage-time penalty to give Greece passage to the Last 16, stunning the Ivory Coast.
The Euro 2004 winners will now face surprise package Costa Rica in the knockout round of the World Cup, despite being bottom of Group C before this last game.
Georgios Samaras converted a stoppage-time penalty to give Greece passage to the Last 16, stunning the Ivory Coast.
The Euro 2004 winners will now face surprise package Costa Rica in the knockout round of the World Cup, despite being bottom of Group C before this last game.
Either of these clubs could still qualify for the Last 16, but the Africans needed only a point and Greece required the victory. Didier Drogba got his first start of the tournament with Roma striker Gervinho. Yaya and Kolo Toure started just days after the death of their brother.
It was a bad start for Greece, who lost Bologna midfielder Panagiotis Kone to a muscular problem almost immediately. Goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis also needed treatment for a back problem and eventually had to be replaced too.
Yaya Toure created a great scoring opportunity, but his final pass for Drogba was slightly over-hit and the chance went begging.
Greece went incredibly close when Jose Cholevas smacked his fierce effort against the crossbar. Moments later Boubacar Barry struggled to smother a powerful Georgios Karagounis free kick.
That pressure paid off when Greece took a shock lead, as Ismael Tiote lost the ball horribly in midfield to spark a counter and substitute Andreas Samaris finished it off on his World Cup debut.
Yaya Toure tried to fight back, but goalscorer Samaris got back and was decisive to charge down the shot after the Manchester City man had already skipped past two.
Tiote hit a powerful but central effort straight at Panagiotis Glykos, while Bologna man Lazaros Christodoulopoulos saw two screamers flash just wide.
Dimitrios Salpingidis also stung Barry’s gloves, then Karagounis unleashed a missile from 30 metres that smacked against the crossbar with the goalkeeper stranded. It was an absolutely ferocious effort.
Christodoulopoulos saw a free kick shave a coat of paint off the bar, but it was the Ivory Coast who got the goal.
Gervinho sprung the offside trap and pulled back for substitute Wilfried Bony’s side-foot finish from 12 yards. It was his second goal of the tournament.
Greece were unlucky, as they hit the frame of the goal for the third time with Roma’s Vasilis Torosidis thumping the base of the near post.
In stoppages there was a huge twist in the tale, as Giovanni Sio tripped Samaras as he was pulling the trigger and the referee awarded a penalty. Samaras took the responsibility and kept his cool to convert, putting Greece through to the Round of 16.
Greece 2-1 Ivory Coast
Scorers: Samaris 43 (G), Bony 74 (I), Samaras pen 92 (G)
Greece: Karnezis (Glykos 24); Torosidis, Papastathopoulos, Manolas, Cholevas; Christodoulopoulos, Maniatis, Karagounis (Gekas 78); Kone (Samaris 12), Salpingidis, Samaras
Ivory Coast: Barry; Aurier, K Toure, Bamba, Boka; Tiote (Bony 61), Y Toure, Serey; Kalou, Drogba (Diomande 79), Gervinho (Sio 83)
Ref: Vera (ECU)