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The final day of Group A saw Russia take on Greece and Poland face Czech Republic, with all four sides still in contention to qualify for the quarter-finals. However, Saturday threw up a number of upsets, as Greece and Czech Republic progressed at the expense of Russia and Poland.

High hopes were pinned on Russia after their commanding opening day 4-1 victory over Czech Republic, but since then it has gone wrong for Dick Advocaat’s men. A 1-1 draw with Poland still had the side in top spot and odds-on to qualify for the next stage, but a shock 1-0 defeat to Greece means that the eastern European powerhouses are heading home.

Greece were good value for their victory, as Fernando Santos’ men looked to rekindle the spirit of their 2004 success to prevail. A low strike from captain Giorgos Karagounis on the cusp of the half-time break put the Greeks into the lead and demoralised the Russians slightly. Advocaat’s man had dominated proceedings for the first 45 without really creating too many gilt-edged chances, with the Greeks typical no-nonsense and committed defending apparent once more.

Russia threw on Roman Pavlyuchenko at half-time, but in truth Advocaat’s men started to panic as the realisation that they were staring elimination in the face dawned on them. Greece had to defend well to maintain their lead, but also had a penalty call denied, whilst Giorgos Tzavellas struck the post with a free-kick.

Russia will be massively disappointed with their group stage exit, especially after their first victory, with a major rethink now needed in the national set-up. Greece are worthy quarter-finalists, and although they have been dogged opponents they are set for a step up in the next stage as most likely Group B winners Germany lie in wait.

Meanwhile, a national fervour brewed up ahead of Poland’s decisive third game against Czech Republic, with the co-hosts in need of three points to make the next stage after two initial draws. Czech Republic had the benefit of knowing that a draw would be good enough to get them through to the last eight.

In an end-to-end game, both sides had chances to take the lead in the first-half, with Poland taking solace from an ardent backing from the home faithful to provide an energetic display. Despite this, the Poles’ initial thrust was cut short, as after the interval they proved to be second best and a well-taken Petr Jiracek strike ended the home team’s dreams of glory.

Czech Republic top the pool after winning two of their three games, a feat that seemed highly unlikely after the 4-1 thumping they received on the first day. Michal Bilek’s men will now wait to see who they will face in the quarter-finals, as the Group B runners up with be next up. This is most likely to be either Portugal or Netherlands, and as such the Czechs will need to continue to improve if they have ambitions of longevity in the competition.

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Czech Republic Euro 2012 Greece Poland national team Russia national team