Portugal v Greece
Portugal (10) v Greece (5)
In two excellent displays Portugal have proved to be entertainers of the tournament, and they resumed their tricky style in today's game against Greece. They enjoyed the lion's share of the early possession, treating the game as something of a shooting practice, but the Greek goalie was in top form and kept Portugal out for a prolonged period. Once the Portuguese got into the swing of things there was no stopping them however, and the score quickly got to 5-0 with the sharp-shooting number 7 netting from all over the pitch at the merest sniff of an opportunity. Portugal then lost concentration in defence and conceded an own goal, which was quickly followed by a penalty to Greece due to a defender entering the keeper's area. The Greek number 6 makes no mistake and puts it away, making the score 5-2 going in to half time.
Greece started the second half much more positively, with their number 11 and number 4 finishing off impressive passing moves to reduce Portugal's lead at 5-4. As Greece continued the fight back Portugal were finding it hard to score, repeatedly going close and being denied by the athletic Greek goalkeeper. Excellent Greek defending couldn't stop Portugal taking the score to 7-4, before pegging another back to bring the score to 7-5. A late flourish by Portugal put the victory beyond doubt, including a final goal of sublime quality that was chipped up by the back heel of the talented number 5 and tucked away neatly by their number 7.
After two relatively simple victories for Portugal this game proved to be more of a challenge, which the competitive Portuguese team must have been grateful for.