Ten man Greece hold on to keep their hopes alive

Japan           0 -0           Greece

After a convincing display by Columbia against Ivory Coast, both Japan and Greece had a do or die situation in Round 2 of the Group C fixture to be played at Estadio Das Dunas, in Natal. A loss for Japan would definitely have eliminated them from the World Cup while Greece could still have had an outside chance despite a loss. Japanese Coach, Alberto Zaccheroni lined up a 4-2-3-1 formation, surprisingly opting to bench midfielder, Shinji Kagawa. On the other hand, his counterpart, Fernando Santos opted for the 4-1-4-1, a formation that Pep Guardiola has been experimenting with, at Bayern Munich.

First Half: 0-0

Both teams made a steady start, pressing forward however, failing to finish in the final third. Greek midfielder, Panagiotis Kone was making some good forward runs that troubled the Japanese defense. Japan, on the other hand were playing a good passing game, trying to soak up the pressure by maintaining possession. Japanese forward, Osako was making some good runs taking a couple of shots that were narrowly wide. No. 13, Yoshito Okubo forced a foul to earn a free kick that needed a decent save from Greek goalkeeper, Orestis Karnezis, with Japan seemingly more dominant of the two. To make things worse, the Greeks lost holding midfielder Katsouranis who received a red card due to a clumsy tackle. Nevertheless the Greeks, maintained their gameplay, managing to holding on up until the end of a goalless first half. With a goal down it seemed to be an uphill task for Greece with a lot to ponder about for Fernando Santos.

Second Half:  

Japanese Coach, Alberto Zaccheroni bought on midfielder Yasuhito Endo to boost their chances of securing the opening goal with his creative vision and style of play. With Greece down to ten men, it was more of a tactical game as Japan tried to breakdown a resolute Greek defense. It was not too long before Japanese star Shinji Kagawa was bought on to provide more pace and width to their attack. Surprisingly, the Greeks were troubling the Japanese with set pieces forcing a save of Eiji Kawashima. The 68’ saw Uchida fail to capitalize on a golden opportunity to take the lead as he shot the ball off target. The introduction of Kagawa seemed to bring a spark in the attack as Uchida missed another opportunity to put Japan ahead. Towards the final 15 minutes the tempo of the game began to rise as the Japanese seemed to lack quality in the final third. The Greeks started to maintain a good defensive shape as the Japanese struggled to finish. In a frantic final minutes, the Japanese tried their level best to take the lead however, failed to get the elusive goal.

The game ended as a goalless draw as both teams picked up a point. Japan will now face Columbia while Greece face Ivory Coast in the last round of Group fixtures. With Columbia having qualified for the knockouts, the Japanese face an uphill task. On the other hand both Ivory Coast and Greece will need a victory to qualify for the knockouts.