Greeks go to 2nd round as Ivorians crash out

Georgios Samaras’s dramatic injury-time penalty took Greece into the 2014 World Cup’s knockout phase for the 1st time as they grabbed a 2-1 win which sent Ivory Coast crashing out in Fortaleza, Brazil, on Tuesday. Samaras, brought down by Giovanni Sio in the 91st minute, bravely stepped up to convert past a flailing Boubacar Barry before being mobbed by his team-mates. It proved the last act of a thrilling Group C finale which Greece had led following Andreas Samaris’s strike near half-time, before Wilfried Bony equalised. The Swansea City striker’s goal looked enough to take Ivory Coast through but Samaras’s penalty lifted Greece from bottom place to 2nd, thanks also to Colombia’s 4-1 win over Japan. Samaras’s goal brought a cruel end to the tournament for Ivory Coast’s Yaya and Kolo Toure, who were playing despite the death of their brother from cancer last week. The result also convinced Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi that his adventure with the ‘Elephants’ was at an end. My contract comes to an end at this World Cup and there will be no epilogue and you can understand well as to why,’ said the 42-year-old Frenchman. ‘It is logical as we did not do well at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations or at the World Cup finals,’ according to AFP.