Gone are the glorious days of the victory of their national team at Euro 2000 for the Greeks. Now for the Greek national team, getting into the finals of major tournaments is becoming a good result. However, fans at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil expected to see a motivated Greek national team able to compete for the playoffs.
The Greek national team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil got into Quartet C, which was considered not the strongest in the tournament. The rivals of the Greeks in the group stage were Colombians, Japanese and Ivorians.
The Greek team played the first match in the tournament against the national team of Colombia. The result of the meeting was disappointing for the Europeans. South American footballers won a crushing victory (3 - 0).
The second match in the group for the Greeks was marked by a very unsuccessful and faded game in terms of content. The match with the Japanese ended in a goalless draw. Thus, in the first two games at the World Cup, the Greek national team could not score a single goal. However, before the final match in the group, the Europeans still had chances of reaching the playoff stage. To do this, it was necessary to defeat the national team of Côte d'Ivoire.
The Greeks coped with their task. However, the victory came in the last minutes of the match. Already in the fixed time Samaras sends the ball into the Ivorians' goal from the penalty spot, thereby leading Greece to the 1/8 finals of the tournament. The final score of the meeting is 2 - 1 in favor of the Europeans. It turned out that with a faded game at the group stage, the Greek team made it to the top 16 teams of the tournament.
In the 1/8 finals of the 2014 World Cup, Greece played with Costa Rica. This match was, perhaps, the most unannounced among the other confrontations. The main and extra time of the game ended with a score of 1 - 1. Only on penalties Costa Ricans defeated Greece.
The final performance of the Greek national team is regarded as successful. Especially considering the lackluster game that the team showed. Currently, Greece's entry into the 1/8 finals of the football world championship is a very worthy result. This was evidenced by the Greek Football Federation.
