Greece v Ivory Coast, 24 June 2014

Score2-1 to Greece
RefereeCarlos Vera
CompetitionFIFA World Cup Finals Group C
VenueEstadio Castelao, Fortaleza
Attendance59,095
Kick-off 5.00pm local (9.00pm BST) Man of the Match: Georgios Samaras (Greece) Assistant referees: Christian Lescano (Ecuador) Byron Romero (Ecuador) Fourth official: Sandro Ricci (Brazil) Fifth official: Emerson de Carvalho (Brazil) The two teams had never met before. Greece midfielder Kostas Katsouranis (red card in previous match) and Ivory Coast defender Didier Zokora (accumulation of yellow cards) were suspended for the match. Greece, which had to win to have any chance to qualify for the knockout stage, went in front in the 42nd minute after Cheick Tioté's defensive mistake allowed substitute Andreas Samaris to steal the ball, play a one-two with Georgios Samaras, and run in on goal before shooting past the goalkeeper with his right foot. In the second half, substitute Wilfried Bony equalised with a low right foot finish after Gervinho's pass from the left. As Japan were losing to Colombia in the other match played at the same time, Ivory Coast only required a point to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time. The game looked to be heading for a draw, until Greece won a penalty in injury time when Giovanni Sio tripped Samaras as he was about to strike the ball, and Samaras scored the penalty hitting the ball to the goalkeeper's left. The win meant Greece finished as the group runners-up, and put them into the knockout stage for the first time in its World Cup history (after unsuccessful campaigns in 1994 and 2010), while Ivory Coast were eliminated in the group stage for the third tournament in a row. Controversy - Ecuadorean referee Carlos Vera awarded Greece a late penalty kick in the 91st minute of the match when he called a foul on Ivory Coast forward Giovanni Sio in a play where replays showed that Greek midfielder Georgios Samaras stubbed his foot into the pitch after the contact and fell down. Samaras converted the subsequent penalty kick to give Greece a 2–1 victory, which meant that they would advance on to the knockout stage. Had the penalty not been called, Ivory Coast would have advanced in a 1–1 draw. FIFA, however, accepted the penalty by appointing the referee as Fourth Official on the Final.

2  Greece

Manager: Fernando Santos

1  Ivory Coast

Manager: Sabri Lamouchi

Goals:

Andreas Samaris 42 G
Georgios Samaras penalty 90 P

Goals:

Wilfried Bony 74 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis
Defender José Holebas
Defender Giannis Maniatis
Defender Kostas Manolas
Midfielder Giorgios Karagounis (captain)
Midfielder Panagiotis Kone
Midfielder/Forward Lazaros Christodoulopoulos

Starting lineup:

Boubacar Barry Goalkeeper
Sol Bamba Defender
Arthur Boka Defender
Serge Aurier Defender/Midfielder
Cheik Tioté Defender/Midfielder
Kolo Touré Defender/Midfielder
Serey Dié Midfielder
Yaya Touré Midfielder
Gervinho Midfielder/Forward
Salomon Kalou Midfielder/Forward
Didier Drogba Forward (captain)

Substitutions:

Andreas Samaris for Panagiotis Kone 12
Panagiotis Glykos for Orestis Karnezis 24
Theofanis Gekas for Giorgios Karagounis 78

Substitutions:

Wilfried Bony for Cheik Tioté 61
Ismaël Diomandé for Didier Drogba 78
Giovanni Sio for Gervinho 83

Cards:

Cards:

Didier Drogba 37 Y
Salomon Kalou 62 Y
Serey Dié 70 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Panagiotis Glykos
Goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino
Defender Vangelis Moras
Defender Loukas Vyntra
Midfielder Giannis Fetfatzidis
Midfielder Andreas Samaris
Midfielder Alexandros Tziolis
Forward Theofanis Gekas

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo
Goalkeeper Sayouba Mande
Defender Constant Djakpa
Defender Ousmane Viera
Midfielder Mathis Bolly
Midfielder Ismaël Diomandé
Midfielder Didier Ya Konan
Midfielder/Forward Max Gradel
Forward Wilfried Bony
Forward Giovanni Sio

2  Greece

Manager: Fernando Santos

Goals:

Andreas Samaris 42 G
Georgios Samaras penalty 90 P

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis
Defender José Holebas
Defender Giannis Maniatis
Defender Kostas Manolas
Midfielder Giorgios Karagounis (captain)
Midfielder Panagiotis Kone
Midfielder/Forward Lazaros Christodoulopoulos

Substitutions:

Andreas Samaris for Panagiotis Kone 12
Panagiotis Glykos for Orestis Karnezis 24
Theofanis Gekas for Giorgios Karagounis 78

Cards:

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Panagiotis Glykos
Goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino
Defender Vangelis Moras
Defender Loukas Vyntra
Midfielder Giannis Fetfatzidis
Midfielder Andreas Samaris
Midfielder Alexandros Tziolis
Forward Theofanis Gekas

1  Ivory Coast

Manager: Sabri Lamouchi

Goals:

Wilfried Bony 74 G

Starting lineup:

Boubacar Barry Goalkeeper
Sol Bamba Defender
Arthur Boka Defender
Serge Aurier Defender/Midfielder
Cheik Tioté Defender/Midfielder
Kolo Touré Defender/Midfielder
Serey Dié Midfielder
Yaya Touré Midfielder
Gervinho Midfielder/Forward
Salomon Kalou Midfielder/Forward
Didier Drogba Forward (captain)

Substitutions:

Wilfried Bony for Cheik Tioté 61
Ismaël Diomandé for Didier Drogba 78
Giovanni Sio for Gervinho 83

Cards:

Didier Drogba 37 Y
Salomon Kalou 62 Y
Serey Dié 70 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo
Goalkeeper Sayouba Mande
Defender Constant Djakpa
Defender Ousmane Viera
Midfielder Mathis Bolly
Midfielder Ismaël Diomandé
Midfielder Didier Ya Konan
Midfielder/Forward Max Gradel
Forward Wilfried Bony
Forward Giovanni Sio