Samaras Kandaskan Harapan Pantai Gading dari Titik Penalti
Samaras Breaks Ivory Coast Hearts with Dramatic Last-gasp Penalty
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
Fortaleza (B2B) - Penyerang Georgios Samaras berhasil membawa Yunani menang 2-1 atas Pantai Gading lewat eksekusi penalti pada menit-menit akhir pertandingan Grup C Piala Dunia 2014 di Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza, Brasil, Rabu pagi WIB.
Berkat hasil tersebut Yunani, mengemas empat poin, berhak mendampingi Kolombia ke babak 16 Piala Dunia 2014, seperti dilansir Yahoo Sports.
Kolombia memuncaki Grup setelah di waktu bersamaan memperoleh kemenangan ketiga mereka dengan mengalahkan Jepang 4-1 di Cuiaba.
Penalti yang diberikan wasit asal Ekuador, Carlos Vera, cukup kontroversial lantaran tayangan ulang memperlihatkan Samaras terjatuh tanpa ada benturan dengan pemain lawan yang menjaganya, Giovanni Sio.
Pun demikian, Samaras sukses mengkonversi kesempatan itu menjadi gol kemenangan Yunani atas Pantai Gading.
Dua gol lainnya diciptakan Andreas Samaris pada menit 43 untuk Yunani, sebelum sempat disamakan oleh Pantai Gading lewat Wilfried Bony menit 74.
Hasil tersebut seolah menjadi klimaks bagi Yunani yang sepanjang laga menemui mistar gawang sebanyak tiga kali lewat tendangan tiga pemain, yakni Jose Cholevas, Georgios Karagounis dan Vaseileios Torosidis.
Fortaleza - Georgios Samaras scored an injury-time penalty to send Greece into the second round of the World Cup for the first time with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast on Tuesday, eliminating the Africans in the process.
Samaras was adjudged to have been tripped in the area by substitute Giovanni Sio, and calmly slotted in the spot kick for a win that puts Greece through to the knockout stage. Ivory Coast would have advanced with a draw.
In Athens, where the game ended well after midnight, thousands of fans poured into the streets to celebrate. The players in Fortaleza danced around in a circle and sang with small groups of travelling fans at Arena Castelao who had been drowned out all night by the pro-African Brazilian crowd.
The Greeks had taken the lead just before halftime through substitute Andreas Samaris, who punished Ivorian Ismael Tiote for a careless pass backward.
Substitute Wilfried Bony equalized for Ivory Coast in the 74th, beating goalkeeper Pangiotis Glykos from close range after being set up by Gervinho.
That goal looked like it would put the Africans through until the late drama. Samaras met a cross in the area and tried to shoot with his left leg, which got caught against the leg of Sio. Samaras´ foot then hit the ground and he fell to the turf, drawing a penalty.
With his country´s hopes on the line, Samaras sent his spot kick past goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, who guessed the right way but couldn´t keep the ball out.
