Martin Demichelis and sub Martin Palermo saw Argentina into the last 16 to set up a mouth-watering clash with South American rivals Mexico. Centre-back Demichelis rammed home a thumping drive from close range on 77 minutes and veteran Palermo slotted home in the dying moments to dump the negative Greeks out of the World Cup.
Diego Maradona’s side were left frustrated until the final quarter of an hour as Greece parked the proverbial bus in front of their goal. Boss Otto Rehhagel once again deployed the defensive tactics which saw his side bore their way to the Euro 2004 title. Lionel Messi was man-marked throughout the game by Sokratis Papastathopoulos as the Greeks failed to produce any meaningful attacks in a damp squib of a game. Messi was handed the captain’s armband as coach Maradona made seven changes from the side which thumped South Korea 4-1 in the previous match.
And it took 10 minutes for him to produce one of his trademark runs after a neat interchange with Liverpool midfielder Maxi Rodriguez. However, the World Player of the Year was dispossessed by Papasthathopoulos on the edge of the penalty area and the move came to nothing. Sergio Aguero’s first sight of goal saw Alexandros Tzorvas palm his shot away for a corner in the 18th minute and the goalkeeper then immediately had to tip over Juan Sebastian Veron’s 30-yard strike.
Goalkeeper Tzorvas almost undid all their hard work when he spilled Diego Milito’s low cross into the path of Aguero but Loukas Vyntra charged down his shot at the far post. But Tzorvas redeemed himself in stoppage time when he saved from Rodriguez and Messi in quick succession. Two minutes after the restart saw Samaras beat both Argentine centre-backs but his shot was well blocked and his rebound effort went well wide of the post.
The Greeks’ man-marking tactics on Messi left the Barca ace increasingly frustrated, with Papastathopoulos sticking to his man like glue. But on 68 minutes the wing wizard finally had a real opportunity on goal, with his long-range free-kick stinging the palms of Tzorvas. The resulting corner fell to Sergio Aguerro, but the Atletico Madrid hitman shot straight at the goalkeeper. Then, with 13 minutes remaining, Demichelis saw his header from a set-piece inadvertently blocked by Milito, but the defender was on hand again to slam in the rebound and put Argentina ahead. And with just two minutes left Palermo — on for the ineffective Diego Milito — slotted home from close range after Messi’s shot had been blocked to seal Argentina’s victory.
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