Hoping to get into next year’s World Cup in Brazil, Greece advanced in a qualifying game by defeating lowly Lichtenstein, 1-0 off a late winner from Costas Mitroglou to go level on points with Group G leader Bosnia, which lost 1-0 at home against Slovakia.
Despite the victory, the Greeks hardly impressed against a team which had no chance of qualifying off its record. Mitroglou missed a string of chances in Vaduz, but finally defeated in-form goalkeeper Peter Jehle, tapping in a cross from Vassilis Torosidis in the 72nd minute.
Both teams ended the match with 10 men, after Greece’s Jose Holebas and David Hasler of Liechtenstein were both booked twice in the second half.
Bosnia suffered a setback when Slovak midfielder Viktor Pecovsky scored with a powerful shot from outside the area in the 77th minute.
Greece and Bosnia both have 16 points from seven matches, with Bosnia ahead on goal difference. Among the tie breakers in soccer is how many goals teams that are otherwise even have scored against opponents instead of settling it on the field.
The top team in each UEFA group will move on the World Cup Finals next summer. The second place team will be placed into a lottery where it will be drawn into a matchup with another second place team. Both sides will compete in a two-legged showdown to determine the participant in the competition next summer. UEFA doesn’t have playoff games to settle ties between teams and uses penalty shoot-outs if overtimes fail to produce a winner.
Greece started its tournament with a 2-1 win in Latvia. The team then took down Lithuania 2-0 in its second game, but drew 0-0 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the third match of qualifying. Greece then took a 1-0 win in Slovakia but lost 3-1 in Bosnia and Herzegovina but beat Lithuania 1-0 in its most recent game. Greece will play Lichtenstein one more time.
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