Greece go out of the World Cup 0-2 to Argentina

88 min GOAL Greece 0-2 Argentina (Palermo) Palermo! At the age of 36! More wonderful play by Messi, who manages to carve out some space and get his shot away. Tzvoras parries it, put only into the path of Palermo, who side-foots it home. What a fairytale for Palermo, who spent over a decade in the international wilderness before getting a call up earlier this year.

86 min And now, with three minutes to go, Otto Rehhagel is urging Greece forward. That's like holding a dinner party and waiting until 11pm, when everybody's getting their coats, before producing the starters.
85 min Oh, Messi! Off the post! He runs, and runs, and hits the woodwork with a fierce left-footed shot. It wasn't a twisting, jinking run; it was all mesmerising body feints, smoke and mirrors. What a run. Still hasn't scored this World Cup, Messi.

82 min Next time Greece turn up, can somebody hide the team bus while they're getting changed so they can't park it in front of the goal?

81 min This is what Otto Rehhagel said before the game. Now, do these sound to you like the words of a man hell-bent on goals? "I am not going to tell you how we are going to stop Messi because we don't give secrets away. But wherever he turns up we will try to attack him - but no team has been able to stop him yet."

80 min "You are probally not a student of history or you would recognize that Greeks are using the classic Spartan strategy used at that little Greek pass which I cannot spell against the Persians." I did study history, as it happens. Not that it'd be much help when it comes to antiquity. I studied Disraeli.

78 min Martin Palermo is about to become Argentina's final change; he comes off for Milito. Another corner to Argentina, who could crown what's been a fairly frustrating night for them.

76 min GOAL Greece 0-1 Argentina (Demichelis) 

75 min Instead, Messi is dispossessed by Papastathopoulos. Aguero comes off for Argentina. On comes Javier Pastore.

73 min Mix-up in the Greek defence! Moras and Tzvoras both try and boot the ball out and collide with each other. The upshot is a corner to Argentina.

71 min Another goal in Durban! Nigeria have equalised! Nigeria 2-2 South Korea. A single goal will suffice now for Greece...

68 min Messi with a free-kick from 35 yards! Tzvoras palms it wide. From the corner, Bolatti is unmarked at the back post and swings a ferocious right foot at it, but it's straight at Tzvoras. That almost took Tzvoras into the net with it, but he manages to hang on.

66 min Mexico will be watching this game and taking some tips from Greece, you fancy. Argentina still have Tevez and Mascherano to come back, but Greece have done what they set out to do very well indeed. The trouble is, what they're setting out to do is just ridiculous.

64 min Greece are rapidly becoming one of my least favourite sides in world football. No, I don't mean rapidly - glacially. Portugal at least give you moments of rare genius, Germany are rapidly shedding their reputation for stodginess, Switzerland have an incredible knack of throwing it away in an entertaining fashion, and England is the place where I live...

63 min Slack pass by Veron gets Greece going. Vyntra passes Ninis into a dead end, though, and it's harmlessly out for a throw.

62 min It's Maxi Rodriguez who makes way for Di Maria.

61 min Angel di Maria is about to make his entrance. Messi has a shot blocked by not one, not two, but three Greek defenders.
54 min And Ninis comes on for Katsouranis, who's picked up a knock. Torosidis also hobbles off, with Patsatzoglou taking his place. Greece have made all three changes with 36 minutes left, and Theo Gekas, their top scorer, isn't going to get on the pitch. Crazy.

For all Greece's bus-parking abilities, it hasn't exactly been Argentina's most accomplished performance so far. Passes going astray, and Messi gives it away again.

51 min Greece are going to make another change here. Sotiris Ninis is about to come on. Meanwhile, a second goal for South Korea. Nigeria 1-2 South Korea. Greece now need to win by two.

48 min And an early chance for Greece! Samaras is away and clear as Argentina's defence go for a siesta. He tries to wriggle past Demechelis, and his shot eventually goes wide.

46 min We're away, and a substitution for Greece - Karagounis comes off, Spiropoulos replacing him. He's a defender.

And there we are. Maradona, a man born entirely without a neck, has his arms folded on the touchline. Greece have set out to kill the game. Argentina haven't quite had the quality to break them down. They'll have to watch out, though, for a 2004-style sucker punch.

20:45 Half time

Closest Argentina have come to a goal so far as Sergio Aguero's goalbound right-foot volley from eight yards is superbly blocked by Loukas Vyntra.
20:00
YELLOW CARD 
Finally the referee gets his yellow card out, for a blatant shirt pull from Kostas Katsouranis on Sergio Aguero.
Can you blame Greece for being defensive? As it stands they are going through. All they need to do is shut the gates. And that's what they are doing. Jose would be impressed."
19:53  
I don't think the bookies will be taking bets on Socratis Papastathopoulos picking up a yellow card - but after another foul on Lionel Messi, he still hasn't been cautioned.
As it stands: Greece are going through in second place behind Argentina. Nigeria need Argentina to score and then they will be right in the mixer.

"I'm not sure whether Greece's Sokratis Papastathopoulos is a huge fan of Lionel Messi but he is following him all over the park."

19:48 Just over 15 minutes in and Sergio Aguero shows a first glimpse of his ability, driving into space and hitting a left-foot shot that Alexandros Tzorvas saves. Moments later, Juan Veron catches a 30-yard screamer off the sweet spot and forces Tzorvas to tip over again.
19:45 
There's a nasty coming together between Giorgios Samaras and Martin Demichelis inside the Argentina half, but despite protests from all sorts of players, referee Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan does well to keep his cards in his pocket.

"I don't think I have ever seen a more negative set-up for a football match than Greece right now - certainly not in the World Cup."
19:41
Socratis Papastathopoulos is doing a man-marking job on Lionel Messi, which seems to mean he just fouls Messi as soon as he gets the ball.
19:35 
It looks a bit like Greece have parked the bus. They're gonna need a double decker for what they are trying to achieve this evening. It's all Argentina, knocking it around without a care in the world.
"We expect Greece to be defensive, they are only going to have Giorgios Samaras up the pitch."

Teams

Greece
12 Tzorvas
05 Moras
08 Papadopoulos
11 Vyntra
15 Torosidis
16 Kyrgiakos
19 Papaststhopoulos
06 Tziolis
10 Karagounis Captain21 Katsouranis
07 Samaras
Argentina
22 Romero
02 Demichelis
03 Rodriguez
04 Burdisso
15 Otamendi
05 Bolatti
08 Veron
20 Maxi
10 Messi Captain16 Aguero
19 Milito
Substitutes:
01 Chalkias, 13 Michail Sifakis, 02 Seitaridis, 04 Spyropoulos, 22 Malezas, 03 Patsatzoglou, 18 Ninis, 09 Charisteas, 14 Salpingidis, 17 Gekas, 20 KapetanosSubstitutes:
01 Diego Pozo, 21 Mariano Andujar, 06 Heinze, 12 Ariel Garce, 13 Samuel, 07 Di Maria, 14 Mascherano, 23 Pastore, 09 Higuain, 11 Tevez, 18 Martin Palermo