Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbooks) - In a rematch of the first clash of the EURO 2004 tournament in which Greece won 2-1, Portugal and Greece faced off in the final at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon on Sunday night. In a fast-paced exciting match the Greek side shockingly defeated the host country again, this time by a score of 1-0.
Portugal definitely had the advantage with the home crowd behind them, but an impressive Greece side that was this far in the tournament looked to cap its wonderful run with European Championship silverware.
The first half of play started with the Portugal side constantly pushing up the field but every time they were met with a stiff Greek defense. Pauleta and Deco had the first chances of the match inside five minutes when both players made swift runs deep in the offensive end of the field. The Greek side had everyone back, though, to make sure there were no holes in their defense.
Greece broke through on a couple of occasions and gave the Portugal defense a few close calls. A spot kick in the 12th minute was the first real chance for the Greeks but the shot was wide left. Five minutes later a confused Portugal back line almost allowed Greece to find the net but Ricardo came up with a key block.
Miguel got in on the action for Portugal in the 14th with a hard run down the right side but his shot was deflected just wide of the left post by Greece keeper Antonis Nikopolidis.
Portugal and Greece settled down and went back and forth with possession and chances but solid play from both sides kept anyone from creating any clear-cut chances on goal.
Miguel, connecting with Figo, created most of the pressure for Portugal but as the half went on the Greek side found its confidence, controlling the ball more and creating more chances up front.
There was one substitution in the first half when Paulo Ferreira came in for Miguel when he suffered an injury to his ribs.
Portugal came out strong in the second half, controlling most of the position but the Greeks countered with physical play.
Greece received its first corner of the match in the 57th minute. Angelos Basinas took the corner and found Angelos Charisteas in the box who headed the ball into the back of the Portugal goal to make the score 1-0.
Even though they were outnumbered by a large margin, the Greek supporters seemed to have the loudest voice throughout the match.
The Portugal squad was injected with a sense of urgency after the Greek goal. Deco, Pauleta and Figo each had chances to level the score in the 60th, 62nd and 64th minutes but the Greek defense held strong.
A terrific chance came in the 75th minute when a cross was played in the box to Christiano Ronaldo, but the Portugese player just missed the ball with his head. Portugal continued to pressure the Greek goal creating a number of free and corner kicks.
The 81st minute saw Ricardo Carvalho get free and fire a shot at the Greek goal but Nikopolidis came up big as he had all game and made a huge save.
In one of Portugal's final opportunities, Figo put a shot on goal in the 90th minute but it was deflected wide left by the hand of Nikopolidis.
Greece was outplayed in the second half but that did not matter as their 57th minute goal was the only event of the game that mattered.
The match ended with 95 minutes played and Greece upsetting the host country 1-0.
Greece had never won a match in a major competition prior to beating Portugal in the first match of this tournament but it can now proudly show off one of Europe's top honors now.
