Greece eliminated with England loss

Greece’s U-19 team was eliminated from the 2008 UEFA U-19 Championships on Saturday, after a 3-0 loss to England. Greece came into the game with their destiny in their own hands, but left the tournament disappointed. England had the advantage coming into the game, especially after Greece play-maker Sotiris Ninis was sent off in Greece’s previous game against the host Czech Republic.

The game  opened with very attack-minded play, as both realized the high stakes. The play was fast and physical, and by the 12th minute Nikos Boutzikos night was over prematurely. An injury took the midfielder out of the cagey affair. England looked promising to break the deadlock early on, but a miss by Daniel Sturridge kept the two teams level. Greece’s best chance of the opening 45 came when Lefteris Matsoukas was able to break free of the England back line, but the final shot from Apostolos Giannou was not as climatic. Both sides had glorious chances to break the tie, but the goalkeeping was far too stellar for any scoring breaches.

The story wasn’t the same in the second half, as England surged ahead shortly after the restart. England won a corner early on, and converted when Ben Mee thumped in a header past Greek goalkeeper Nikos Babaniotis. It was 2-0 when Freddie Sears stepped up and converted from the penalty spot. Greece needed a superior effort to have any chance of reversing the result. That idea seemed far off, especially when England added a third through Sturridge.

With the win England was able to clinch one of the 6 berths in next summer’s FIFA U-20 Championships. Greece did not qualify and the team members will return to their respective clubs in the coming days.