Well that was good fun. Delight for Colombia, misery for Greece, and that's three from three for the South American teams. Colombia defended well, started brightly, attacked with pace and power and they were always the better side. Greece, you won't be surprised to hear, were very poor and it would be a big surprise if they make it out of the group. Thanks for reading. Gregg Bakowski is on hand with live coverage of Uruguay v Costa Rica now. Bye!
Pablo Armero, Teo Gutierrez and James Rodriguez scored as Colombia impressed against limited opponents
Updated
Sat 14 Jun 2014 13.55 EDT
First published on Sat 14 Jun 2014 10.30 EDT
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Full-time: Colombia 3-0 Greece
That's your lot!
GOAL! Colombia 3-0 Greece (Rodriguez, 90 min+3)
James Rodriguez gives Colombia the perfect finish! It began with a quick free-kick on the right. Cuadrado seized possession and drove forward, with Greece lagging. The ball went to Zuniga, then back to Cuadrado, who flicked it faintly to Rodriguez, and he stroked a fine left-footed shot low past poor Kamezis from 15 yards out.
90 min+2: This has essentially been a 90-minute party for Colombia.
90 min: There will be three minutes of the added stuff.
89 min: Zuniga turns delightfully away from his marker, plays a pass to Martinez, continues his run into the area and doesn't receive the ball back from the striker, who instead hangs on to it and then knocks it out for a throw. Fair enough.
86 min: Rodriguez tries a pass to a team-mate but falls over instead.
85 min: Torosidis goes on an adventure into Colombian territory. He's tackled but the ball squirts to Samaras, whose careful low shot from 20 yards skims just wide of the right post.
84 min: "This Greece team is not so much one for the purist as one for the nihilist," says Derek Walmsley.
82 min: Samaras slides a pass into Torosidis in the area, but he's challenged expertly by Yepes, still going strong at 38.
81 min: This game is now officially scrappy. We've been playing out time ever since the second Colombia goal.
80 min: Is it possible to be disappointed by Greece when we didn't expect much more than this?
78 min: Greece make their final change, Georgios Karagounis replacing Kone.
77 min: Arias's low shot from 20 yards is comfortably held by Kamezis.
76 min: Jackson Martinez replaces Gutierrez, the scorer of Colombia's second goal.
74 min: West Ham legend Pablo Armero is replaced by Santiago Arias.
72 min: "I have half greek blood," says Kara Gone. "(The other half is dutch. It's very confusing sometimes.) And generally speaking, we - the common people - are mostly ashamed of the our style of play. There is term in Greece actually "tsoukou tsoukou ball". It's quite funny and has become like the formal techical term nowadays. The only time we were utterly shameless was when we were progressing at that Euro. Flambasted and cocky. You would be too, and you know it.So about Mitroglou. It's bewildering. Did fuhlam actually watch him prior to signing? The kid can score some goals sure, he has the physicality. But he is so slow in other ways, i don't wanna say mentally - let's call it reaction-wise or thought-wise maybe? He reminds me of Milner in many ways. And have you seen that gun celebration he used to do?"
MITROGLOUS TOUCHES THE BALL
70 min: Samaras lays the ball off to Mitroglou, whose shot from the 20 yards is deflected wide by Yepes. Have some of that, Felix Magath.
69 min: Alex Mejia replaces Abel Aguilar for Colombia. I believe we're still waiting for Mitroglou's first touch. The anticipation is killing me.
67 min: Colombia have been waiting to make two changes for a few minutes, during which time nothing has happened. You can't force me to make stuff up.
64 min: And with that, Kostas Mitroglou replaces Gekas. He exists!
63 min: Greece hit the bar! What a miss! Colombia were caught napping by a cross to the far post, where Fetfazidis was unmarked. He headed it across goal to Gekas, who powered a free header against the bar from six yards out? Dearie me, that was dismal. Fernando Torres could have scored that.
62 min: Colombia's supporters are enjoying this. They're making an almighty racket.
60 min: Greece never score. They have to score twice.
GOAL! Colombia 2-0 Greece (Gutierrez, 58 min)
This is so scruffy. Greece won't be happy. James Rodriguez whipped a corner to the near post from the right. It wasn't a great cross. It looked too low. But Aguilar dashed to meet it and flick it on into the six-yard box, where Gutierrez turned it in from close range. Where was the marking? Where were the Greece defenders? Barring an extraordinary turnaround, the points should be Colombia's.
57 min: Greece bring Ioannis Fetfatzidis for Salpingidis.
55 min: Another yellow card for Greece, this time for Salpingidis, who brought down Armero in full flight. It wasn't a particularly bad foul but there is no sight more beautiful than Pablo Armero in full flight, so the referee's hands were tied.
54 min: Rodriguez dumps the free-kick into the wall; Cuadrado belts a volley over.
52 min: I reckon Colombia have the capacity to mess this up. Greece are persistent buggers. Indeed Sokratis Papastathopoulos has just been booked for a hefty challenge from behind on Obarbo.
51 min: Greece have started the second half well. Torosidis sends in a dangerous cross from the right but it's too close to Ospina. "Greece," yawns Justin Kavanagh. "A nation full of strikers in every sector except its football team. Samaras has 8 goals in 76 appearance, for goodness sake. John Terry had 6 in 78 for England."
49 min: Hamez "Himmy" Rodriguez diddles through the middle and has a dig from distance. Kamezis parries it away.
47 min: This is a ridiculous dive from Samaras. He tricked his way into the area and then, when Zuniga dared to exist near him, he crumpled to the floor. The referee doesn't fool for it, although to be fair to Samaras, he did seem to be telling him it wasn't a penalty, like a Greek Robbie Fowler."Just in from work, don't care about the score," says Darren McVeigh, stopping just short of telling football to talk to the hand. "Is the Colombian bird man there?"
46 min: After a tortuous 15-minute delay, we have more football. Phew, don't know about you, but I was starting to experience withdrawal symptoms. Colombia begin the second half. "Keaton always said, 'I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of him'. Well, I believe in God...and the only thing that scares me is Kostas Mitroglou," says Damian Clarke.
Half-time: Colombia 1-0 Greece
And that's that for the first half. Colombia lead thanks to Pablo Armero's early goal but Greece are still in this.
45 min: Kone forces Ospina to make an excellent save. Salpingidis bustled his way into the Colombia area from the right and when he was tackled, the ball rolled to Kone in the D. He opened up his body and tried to caress one into the top corner with the inside of his right foot. It was a fine attempt but Ospina was equal to it and pushed it over for a corner, which is cleared.
44 min: Colombia are extremely difficult to live with when it clicks for them in attack. Ibarbo flicks a pass through to Cuadrado but he's always stretching and his lobbed cross towards Gutierrez doesn't reach the striker.
42 min: Does Kostas Mitroglou exist?
41 min: Colombia haven't done much going forward for a while but they came to life again here. Greece were chasing shadows as the ball was moved sharply from player to player. Eventually it broke to Gutierrez on the right of the area but his attempt to tee up Ibarbo for a tap-in didn't come off. He could have gone for goal himself.
40 min: Kone injects some urgency into the Greece attack with a zig-zagging run into the area from the left. The ball runs away from him, though, and Gekas can't make anything of it. The Colombia fans continue to bounce up and down.
37 min: A searching ball over the top from Rodriguez finds Gutierrez in the area. He takes it down on his chest but before he can shoot, it's hacked behind for a corner on the right. Rodriguez curls it in and Greece, not too convincingly, get it away. Well, sort of. Ibarbo picks up possession on the left and whips a cross to the far post, where the unmarked Rodriguez hooks a difficult volley well over.
36 min: Greece have done well in the last 15 minutes but do they have enough wit to trouble this Colombia defence? Not yet. Their passing has been too ponderous so far, but they are enjoying a level of positional dominance.
34 min: Gutierrez, a plaster on his eyebrow, is back on. Up the other end, Armero lets a long ball float over his head for some reason, allowing it to come to Maniatis on the right. He waits for support and while he does, Armero gets back to block his cross behind for a corner, before revving up the Colombian fans behind the goal. As if they weren't revved up enough already. The corner comes to nothing.
33 min: Cuadrado shoots from 35 yards out. No, try again.
32 min: "I like your magic spray idea Jacob," says Paul Fowler. "Some of the most treasured memories in world cup history would surely only be beautifully garnished with acronyms immediately sprayed on the pitch. Michael owen reels away in france 98 as 'OMG' appears in the centre circle. Heskey's south african stepover instigates 'LMAO' outside the penalty box. Gerrard misses the crucial penalty in brazil against the portugese...'FFS'.
31 min: Gutierrez has been in the wars, so he's off receiving some treatment. I imagine he'll be fine, he'll not have to join Falcao just yet.
30 min: A cross from the right is deflected to the edge of the Colombia area, where Kone leans back and blooters a volley miles over the bar. Head over the ball, that's what all the coaching manuals say. I assume, anyway. I've never read a coaching manual.
29 min: A lull. So here's a gallery of the 10 best headed goals of all time.
28 min: Zuniga trips Samaras on the left. Holebas swings the ball into the area and Torosidis heads - well, shoulders – not too far wide. Meanwhile Simon McMahon has written a song.
There are worse things we could do, than concede a goal or two
Even if the other teams think we're defensive and no good
I suppose it could be true, but there are worse things we could do.
We could sit back every game, wait around for extra-time
Not make chances every day, and throw our shape away
On a dream that won't come true.
That's the worst thing we could do.
26 min: Carlos Sanchez picks up the first booking for an agricultural scythe on Georgios Samaras.
25 min: What pace from Ibarbo! He surges away down the left, leaving Maniatis for dead, scorching away from the Greek midfielder, but Manolas does brilliantly to slam the door in his face and emerge with the ball. That was electric.
23 min: "I just tuned in to the game, sad I missed the celebration," says Paulo Padilha. "Here in Brazil, Pablo Armero became famous for his extravagant post-goal moves." Why didn't he do this for West Ham?
22 min: Greece are missing a spark. They're seeing more of the ball now but there's not much imagination to their play and they're hitting too many hopeful long balls.
21 min: Although we've still got England to come. Hipsters love England.
20 min: The first 20 minutes have gone by in a flash. It's fair to say that the Colombians are going to have a lot of admirers. You can see why they're the hipsters' choice.
18 min: Rodriguez's effort from 25 yards is easily held by Kamezis.
17 min: Colombia are all over Greece. Cuadrado shuffles his way through the middle and then quickens the pace. A lovely exchange with Gutierrez on the edge of the area opens Greece up, but the striker is denied by a perfectly-timed challenge from Papastathopoulous (check me out). Greece are wheezing. They can't keep pace with Colombia's movement.
15 min: I wonder if the referees could be a bit more inventive with Magic Spray. Instead of showing red cards, they could draw frowny faces on the pitch, or thumbs down. A goal could lead to a happy face scrawled on the turf. We could have graffiti too: "Howard woz 'ere." I think I'm on to a winner.
14 min: Greece are annoying the Colombian fans by passing the ball, trying to take the sting out of the game. They haven't been able to cope with Colombia's intense approach and relentless attacking, so they could do with a bit of peace and quiet for a while.
12 min: Marie Meyer has written a song.
We soak up pressure and we hoof it away
Positivity belongs to Uruguay
Knockout round - we can make it that far
We show Columbia we can be who we are
Greece is the word.
11 min: Torosidis canters forward from the back, only to be chopped down by Ibarbo. A free-kick to Greece, then, around 30 yards out. The referee marches the Colombia wall back and then out comes Magic Spray! What a world. But after all that, Holebas's effort is struck straight into the wall and Colombia clear.
10 min: Rodriguez is having some treatment for an ankle injury off the pitch. "The aesthetics of this game are almost perfect," says Simon McMahon. "Stadium, teams, fans and weather looking and sounding incredible. Actually reminds me of Brazil v. Italy in 1982. Hope it's as good."
6 min: Greece almost hit back immediately! The ball was cut back from the left to Samaras, who was totally unmarked, but he sliced wide of the far post from 12 yards out! What an escape for Colombia.
GOAL! Colombia 1-0 Greece (Armero, 5 min)
This is the best World Cup ever. Cuadrado was released by a raking pass on the right. He isolated a Greek defender, twisting this way and that, and then pulled a low cross into the area. It looked like Rodriguez, waiting in the middle, was going to shoot. Instead a clever dummy threw the Greece defence off-balance and the ball ran to Pablo Armero, the left-back who spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham, around 12 yards from goal. He didn't make proper contact with his low right-footer, but it took a deflection off Manolas and that was enough to send it dribbling past a horrified Kamezis! Colombia's players then race off to the bench, whereupon the entire squad, it seems, breaks into an impromptu dance. Did they plan that? Best World Cup ever.
5 min: Maniatis tests Ospina with a low shot from 25 yards. Greece are giving it a good go. But wait...
4 min: This has been a lightning start from Colombia. Zuniga speeds inside from the right and turns a pass into the area for Gutierrez. He tries to pull the ball into the six-yard box, but it's blocked. Rodriguez tries to fasten on to the loose ball but he's muscled out of it by a strong challenge from Holebas.
3 min: Maniatis skedaddles up the right for Greece but his cross isn't worth describing. It's good to see Greece willing to break, though. Hopefully they won't just sit back for 90 minutes.
The sun is beating down and we are off! What an atmosphere there is inside the stadium. It's a sea of yellow. Greece, all in blue, get the ball rolling and they're kicking from right to left in the first half. Colombia are in yellow shirts and white shorts. These kits put you in mind of the 1994
2 min: Colombia are on the front foot already, Gutierrez and Ibarbo flicking it between themselves on the edge of the area and trying to slice their way through. Almost, but not quite. This has the air of a match that is going to be very entertaining.
Those South Americans sure know how to sing a national anthem. Not like us. You wouldn't catch anyone singing our anthem a capella style.
Some children lead out a Fifa fair play banner and then out come the teams, walking into a cauldron of noise. There must be plenty of Colombians present. They're up for this. Could this finally be their time? Or are Greece going to put a spanner in the works? You wouldn't put it past them.
"I went to see Fiorentina last season," says Graeme Jamieson, "and the young son of my season-ticket holding friend, when asked whom his favorite player is, replied with a cheeky grin: "Cuadrado!" When I pointed out in my pigeon-Italian that the Colombian is challenged by gravity, the young scamp nodded his head enthusiastically. Later, I learned that he wants to be a football journalist. True, Cuadrado bought a penalty that day. But on his feet, he is some player. Personally, I fancy the Colombians to reach the final."
Are you Pele in disguise?
"I'll say this for Greece, you don't need to be Jonathan Wilson to understand their 10-0-0 formation," says Justin Kavanagh. "If they go on to win this World Cup, he could always write a follow-up called Perverting the Pyramid, I suppose."
You have to admire the shamelessness. They couldn't care less what you think.
"I think this could be the match of the tournament so far," says Simon McMahon. "The unpredictable, often brilliant Columbians versus the underrated and mercurial Greeks. I can't wait."
Who cares if it's good? It's football and then it's football day tomorrow and then the day after that and the day after that and for ever and ever and I'm hyperventilating now.
Here's day three of our daily World Cup show. Enjoy. It contains Gaizka Mendieta.
Who else misses Rene Higuita?
"Greece. I saw their 2004 win coming!" says Mick McMenemie. "Ask my mates. I never stop reminding them of me laughing at them when I tipped them pre-tournament. It's been a great decade."
We've never met, Mick. But I have no problem calling you a liar.
Team news
Colombia, with Adrian Ramos, Jackson Martinez and Carlos Bacca in reserve. Ospina; Zuniga, Zapata, Yepes, Armero; Sanchez, Aguilar; Rodriguez, Cuadrado, Ibarbo; Gutierrez. Subs: Arias, Carbonero, Vargas, Guarin, Mejia, Balanta, Bacca, Ramos, Quintero, Martinez, Mondragon, Valdes.
Greece, with Kostas Mitroglou left out: Kamezis; Manolas, Torosidis, Papastathopolous, Holebas; Maniatis, Kone, Katsouranis; Salpingidis, Gekas, Samaras. Subs: Tzavellas, Moras, Tziolis, Mitroglou, Karagounis, Vyntra, Glykos, Kapino, Christodoulopoulos, Fetfatzidis, Samaris, Tachtsidis.
Referee: Mark Geiger (USA! USA! USA!)
Preamble
Afternoon. We're only three days into this World Cup and it's already infinitely better than the forgettable nonsense of South Africa four years ago, with all its teams refusing to get off buses, teams parking buses, Jabulanis and vuvuzelas. We've had Holland spanking Spain, great goals from Arjen Robben and R obin van Persie, controversial refereeing, a fast start from Chile, those never-say-die Aussies and a victory for Brazil in their opener, and now, ready to join the party, jumping out of a plane and cartwheeling into view, here come those crazy party animals... Greece!!!!!!!!!!! It's the moment we've all been waiting for! Greece!
It's ten years since Greece won Euro 2004. What a time that was. Did they score a goal? It's impossible to say, because no one managed to stay awake for the duration of any of their matches, but apparently they beat France, Czech Republic and Portugal to lift the first trophy in their history. No one saw it coming, mainly because we were all asleep, but it does rank as one of the greatest underdog achievements of all time. Otto Rehhagel's side weren't given a prayer, but did they care? Did they heck.
Greece haven't really been able to build on that success, though. They have been knocked out in the first round two of the past three tournaments and their World Cup record is nothing to shout about either. After losing all three of their matches when they made their first appearance in 1994, they had to wait until 2010 for another try. They fared a bit better, beating Nigeria in the group stages, but they were still unable to qualify for the second round. Mind you, they did somehow squeeze out of their group at Euro 2012, losing to Germany in the quarter-finals, so all is not lost for Fernando Santos's side. They are unlikely to be the most enterprising side – their lack of goals in a weak qualifying group meant they had to go through the play-offs to reach Brazil – but they can be stubborn when they're in the mood. And the mysterious Kostas Mitroglou will be desperate to prove that Fulham and Felix Magath were wrong about him.
But this won't be easy. Goals are unlikely to be a problem for Colombia, even though they are without the injured Radamel Falcao. He's their best player but Colombia, who are admittedly carrying a couple of injuries elsewhere, are not a one-man show. They were mightily impressive in qualifying and are hardly down to the bare bones in attack when they can call upon the likes of Carlos Bacca, James Martinez, Adrian Ramos and Teofilo Gutierrez. After Chile's scratchy win over Australia last night, we could be about to see the real South American dark horses.
Although Colombia could be forgiven for approaching this with a bit of trepidation. They have been built up before, famously in 1994, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. There are never any certainties in knock-out football. Colombia's manager, Jose Pekerman, found that out when he was in charge of Argentina in 2006. They were hailed as champions-in-waiting after a stunning 6-0 win over Serbia in their group but Pekerman's decision to take off Juan Roman Riquelme in their quarter-final against Germany proved ruinous and they lost on penalties. A lesson there, then: attack, attack, attack.
Kick-off: 5pm BST.
Some pictorial and visual scene-setting:
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