Germany rout sorry Greece

Germany eased ominously into the semi-finals of Euro 2012 - where they will meet either England or Italy - as Greece's resistance finally crumbled.

 Having set out to frustrate from the off, once they fell behind to Philipp Lahm's goal just before half-time the 2004 champions were always up against it.

 Having equalised somewhat unexpectedly through Celtic forward Giorgios Samaras they could not hold on for very long, and goals from Sami Khedira, Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus merely reflected the dominance of the three-time winners of this tournament before Dimitris Salpingidis' late penalty.

 On the four previous occasions Germany have won a last-eight encounter they have reached the final, and this performance increased the likelihood of them making it five.

 For a long time in the first half it appeared they might regret a number of missed chances, but once Lahm broke the deadlock there was only going to be one winner.

 Greece, who have now have never beaten their opponents in nine competitive matches, scrambled, scampered and blocked their way towards half-time only for the Germany captain to fire home a swerving effort from outside the penalty area six minutes before the break.

 It allowed coach Joachim Low to breathe a little easier after making four changes from the side which beat Denmark, the most notable being handing Klose his 120th cap at the expense of three-goal Mario Gomez.

 After the Lazio striker had an early effort ruled out for offside, when Michalis Sifakis had fumbled Khedira's shot, Germany laid siege to Greece's goal.

 Excellent movement and passing had the Greeks manning a determined rearguard effort, but even when that was breached Mesut Ozil shot weakly at Sifakis after being set up by the impressive Reus, who had already sliced one shot wide.

 Klose failed to get on the end of Reus' cross-shot and Khedira had Sifakis scrambling with another shot before Lahm made the 39th-minute breakthrough, the left-back cutting in from an advanced position to smash in a swerving shot.

 The advantage should have been much greater, however, and Germany were made to pay 10 minutes after the break when out of nowhere Greece equalised.

 Substitute Theofanis Gekas released Salpingidis on a quick break down the right, and when he slid over a teasing cross Samaras poked home at the far post.

 They were level for only six minutes, though, as Khedira, Germany's supposed defensive linchpin in midfield, timed his run from deep perfectly to volley home from Jerome Boateng's assist.

 Klose ensured the Greeks could not produce another 2004 upset when he powered home a header from Ozil's free-kick as Sifakis came but got nowhere near the cross, and Reus lashed in a volley off the underside of the crossbar after Klose's shot rebounded off the goalkeeper.

 Salpingidis converted a late penalty, generously awarded for Boateng's handball, but it was little consolation

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Germany v Greece : Semis at stake

Germany have shown they have the patience required to break down defensive-minded Greece in their Euro 2012 quarter-final on Friday.

 But coach Joachim Loew may need to consider some changes on the flanks to get the win against a stubborn Greek side.

 Germany have been criticised for abandoning the attacking football that impressed fans at the 2010 World Cup but Loew hit back in the lead-up to Friday's quarter-final by blaming the opposition.

 Loew claimed the teams they have played have not allowed Germany the space to attack at Euro 2012 and argued three wins and five goals in Group B was an impressive result. "Look at these opponents, even the Dutch retreated against us," Loew said.

 "You can't always play as vertically as you want, it can be a consequence of the opponent playing deep.

 Germany's patience has been crucial in their victories over Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark but while Loew would be wary of tinkering with a winning side, he may need to play some different wingers to get past Greece.

 Greece progressed from Group A by playing their typical defensive style, which earned them a European title in 2004.

 Loew has selected Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller as the wide players in his 4-2-3-1 formation so far at Euro 2012. 

 But Podolski and Mueller are more suited to the fast, counter-attacking style Germany showed in South Africa two years ago and Loew may need to bring in one of either Mario Goetze, Toni Kroos or Marco Reus to provide some more creativity.

 Mesut Oezil, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lars Bender, who all started in Germany's 2-1 win over Denmark, are expected to be fit for the quarter-final despite missing training on Tuesday.

 Greece will be without captain Giorgos Karagounis who is suspended and scored the winner against Russia in their final group match.

 Coach Fernando Santos will likely send his team out to frustrate the Germans and hope to score from a corner or free-kick.

 Defenders Vasilis Torosidis and Kyriakos Papadopoulos could therefore be crucial for Greece as goal-scoring options. Torosidis has scored six goals for his country in 47 matches, while Papadopoulos has hit the back of the net three times in 11 appearances.

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Dramatic end to group A as Greece oust Russia, Jiracek sends co-hosts crashing out

Petr Jiracek broke Poland hearts in Wroclaw, netting the only goal of a tense Group A encounter to secure a 1-0 win and last-eight berth for Czech Republic.

 The Wolfsburg midfielder was clinical in converting Milan Baros' pass 72 minutes into the game, after Poland had been caught on the break and left wide open at the back.

 The Czechs held on to record all three points, and qualify along with Russia for the next stage.

 With both sides needing a win to guarantee their place in the quarter-finals, the game started at a frantic pace with plenty of goalmouth action. Poland were the first team to go close, when Dariusz Dudka's improvised overhead kick flew into the side netting with the home crowd ready to celebrate the opener. 

 The Czechs also went close through Vaclav Pilar in the opening stages, when the midfielder fluffed a first-time effort having been set up brilliantly by Theodor Gebre Selassie.

 It was the hosts, however, who dominated proceedings in the first half. Ludovic Obraniak was at the heart of the attack, and his delicate ball almost released Jakub Blaszczykowski on the left hand side but Petr Cech reacted well to close the play down.

 It was all Poland at that point, with the Czech side struggling to string two passes together in the face of fierce pressing.

 An off-balance Robert Lewandowski should at least have hit the target with a shot that veered wide in a dangerous position, while Boenisch forced another save from Cech with a decent long-range effort and Marcin Wasilewski directed a tame header into the Chelsea man's arms. The Czechs' best chance of the first arguably fell to Milan Baros.

 The ex-Liverpool striker timed his run perfectly to spring the offside trap, but hesitated and could not control a decent lofted pass from deep as the danger passed. 

The tempo from both teams fell towards the end of the first 45 minutes, not helped by a fierce storm that passed over Wroclaw bringing with it a torrential downpour as the teams went in still level at half-time.

 A Greece goal against Russia in first-half injury time left Group A on a knife-edge, with both Czech Republic and Poland facing elimination if the scores stayed the same at the final whistle.

 Michal Bilek's men probed early after the restart, but despite some decent possession around the opposition area could not find a way through the determined hosts' defence.

 David Limbersky had a half chance to open the scoring as he powered into the box, but his shot could only find the side-netting once more as the game remained in an uneasy deadlock.

 The reticience of the Polish team to push forward, meanwhile, was baffling, as only a win would put the home side into the next round no matter how events in the other game finished.

 The home fans looked to Kamil Grosicki to make the difference, the Sivasspor winger entering just under 15 minutes into the second half in place of Eugen Polanski to add a new attacking dimension to the Polish team.

 The change did not translate into extra potency in the final third, however, and numerous fouls from the hosts ruined their rhythm and handed their rivals the initiative.

 The Czechs had several chances from free kicks in dangerous areas, but failed to take advantage and net the goal that would take them above Greece and into the next round.

 One of those dead-balls forced a reaction save from Tyton, but the keeper was attentive and punched clear under heavy pressure.

 Baros was the next man to test Tyton, who was more than comfortable in getting down to hold a speculative long-range shot.

 With 20 minutes left on the clock, however, it was the Czech Republic who took the advantage. A slick counter left Poland exposed at the back, and Baros slipped to Petr Jiracek who did well to turn onto his right foot and coolly hit past Tyton.

 The goal was a mortal blow for Franciszek Smuda's men, who looked unable to recompose themselves and fight for a now unlikely victory. Baros momentarily thought he had sewn up the three points when he rounded Tyton, but the play was called back for a marginal offside and the Czechs stayed one goal up.

 The Polish fans sang their heart out right to the end but, despite a near-miss for Wasilewski right at the death, their efforts were in vain as the hosts bade farewell to the competition.

 The central European nation therefore finish top of Group A with six points, two clear of Russia who go through despite losing 1-0 to Greece.

 Poland, meanwhile lie bottom of the pile and crash out on home soil, having picked up just two points and failing to win in their fleeting Euro 2012 campaign.

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Euro 2012 Group A: Greece 1 Czech Republic 2

The Czech Republic held off Greece to record a 2-1 win in Wroclaw on Tuesday, kick-starting their Euro 2012 Group A campaign. After going down 4-1 to Russia in their opening match last Friday, the Czechs were out to make amends against Greece.

 And they made a flying start to the contest at Stadion Miejski, with two goals in the first six minutes from Petr Jiracek and Vaclav Pilar.

 Jiracek collected a through ball and beat the offside trap to score three minutes from kick-off, the fourth fastest goal in the history of the European Championships.

 The Greek cause was not helped by the loss of goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias to injury on 22 minutes, he was replaced by Michalis Sifakis.

 Greece thought they had pulled a goal back with five minutes remaining before half-time, but Giorgios Fotakis' header was ruled out for offside.

 They did succeed in getting one back seven minutes into the second half, substitute Theofanis Gekas benefiting from Petr Cech's fumble to make it 2-1.

 But Fernando Santos' men proved unable to breach the opposition defence a second time, as the Czech Republic registered their first points in the tournament.

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