Date: 18-06-2008
Stage: first round
Place: SALZBURG
Running time: 112 min.
Colour: PAL
Quality: DVD
Commentary: italian
My rating: **
Notes:
MATCH SUMMARY
Wednesday, 18 June 2008, 20:45
Red Bull Arena, Salzburg
Attendance: 30,883
Meteo: Light rain showers, cool, 17°C
SPAIN
Pepe Reina
Álvaro Arbeloa
Juanito
Fernando Navarro
Cesc Fàbregas
Rubén de la Red
Andrés Iniesta
Raúl Albiol
Xabi Alonso (c)
Dani Güiza
Sergio García
Coach: Luis Aragonés (ESP)
41′ Dani Güiza
45′ Álvaro Arbeloa
59′ ↓Andrés Iniesta ↑Santi Cazorla
GREECE
Antonis Nikopolidis (c)
Trianos Dellas
Sotiris Kyrgiakos
Nikolaos Spyropoulos
Loukas Vyntra
Ioannis Amanatidis
Angelos Basinas
Giorgios Karagounis
Konstantinos Katsouranis
Angelos Charisteas
Dimitrios Salpingidis
Coach: Otto Rehhagel (GRE)
34′ Giorgios Karagounis
72′ Angelos Basinas
90′ Loukas Vyntra
63′ ↓Sotiris Kyrgiakos ↑Paraveskas Antzas
74′ ↓Giorgios Karagounis ↑Alexandros Tziolis
86′ ↓Dimitrios Salpingidis ↑Stelios Giannakopoulos
Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
Goals:
42′ Angelos Charisteas GRE
61′ Rubén de la Red ESP
88′ Dani Güiza ESP
Match overview
Spain overcame a first-half deficit to beat Greece 2-1 in Salzburg’s rain-softened Red Bull Arena. Angelos Charisteas headed Greece ahead before halftime. Spain equalised through Rubén de la Red’s long-range strike and sealed victory with a late Dani Güiza header, securing their third straight Group D win under Otto Rehhagel’s subdued but spirited Greek defence.
Trivia
This fixture spoiled Greece’s bid to end their Euro 2008 title defence on a high, with veteran Antonis Nikopolidis beaten by two first-time international scorers. Dani Güiza’s injury-time header confirmed Spain’s perfect group record. The match marked Xabi Alonso’s breakthrough contribution for Spain in a major tournament.
