Greece beats Eagles..

Group B, 14:00 GMT, June 17, 2010
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa


Greece
2 - 1
Nigeria

A blunder by Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama handed Greece their first victory at the fifth attempt in two World Cup finals.
It also maintains their slim hopes of an appearance in the next stage although their final Group B game is against Argentina.

Scoring Summary

Greece	Nigeria
Dimitrios Salpingidis (44')	Kalu Uche (16')
Vasilis Torosidis (71')

Match Stats

Greece

Nigeria

27(11)	Shots (on Goal)	10(3)
13	Fouls	14
11	Corner Kicks	3
3	Offsides	1
57%	Time of Possession	43%
3	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	1
2	Saves	9

Match Information

Stadium:	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Attendance:	31,593
Match Time:	14:00 GMT
Official(s):	Oscar Ruiz

Man of the Match: Dimitrios Salpingidis 

MATCH SUMMARY

Man of the Match: Dimitrios Salpingidis - His goal may have been indebted to a large slice of luck, but Salpingidis deserved the credit it will bring him thanks to a purposeful display. A constant menace down the right flank, he was the most lively player in Otto Rehhagel's ranks.

Greece verdict: With Argentina to come in their final game, Greece may yet end up disappointed but they will certainly settle for their first ever World Cup win. While they looked as uninspired and unadventurous as usual in the first half hour, Rehhagel showed admirable initiative when quickly bringing on Georgios Samaras after a red card shown to Sani Kaita. Both goals were fortunate, but Greece worked hard for the win.

Nigeria verdict: Complete and utter frustration. Leading 1-0, they surrendered control of the game when Kaita received an idiotic red card after 33 minutes. Greece immediately scented blood and adopted an attacking stance, leaving Nigeria firmly on the back foot. That said, Chinedu Ogbuke wasted a glorious chance to make it 2-1 to Nigeria in the second half, but Lars Lagerback's side could not recover from the dismissal. A missed opportunity.

Could do better: Sani Kaita - Who else could it be? Your team is leading 1-0 in a World Cup finals match, a result which will take them joint second in the group with one game to play, so what do you do? Apparently Kaita saw fit to give Vasilis Torosidis a kick on the touchline, with the ball out of play, for no reason whatsoever. Madness.

Stat attack: Greece finally scored their first ever World Cup goal in their fifth finals match. Their only previous appearance in a World Cup was in 1994 when they lost all three group games, including matches against Nigeria and Argentina.