2010 World Cup: Greece v Argentina half time report
Greece 0 Argentina 0
An ultra-defensive Greece and a much-changed Argentina are level at 0-0 in Polokwane.
Greece boss Otto Rehhagel has handed Sokratis Papastathopoulos the unenviable task of man-marking Argentina’s captain for the night Lionel Messi, an indication of the cautious approach of his team, and despite Diego Maradona’s side – which shows seven changes from the 4-1 win over South Korea – dominating possession, they have struggled to create chances against Greece’s blanket defence.
Eventually, both Sergio Agüero and Juan Sebastián Verón tested goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas in quick succession, the former with a left footed effort after an excellent driving run and the latter with a powerful drive from long range, before Mario Bolatti just failed to connect with a driven Verón cross.
Tzorvas then missed a Diego Milito cross, forcing Loukas Vyntra into a superb last ditch block to deny Agüero, and while Greece have offered little going forward, their lone striker Georgios Samaras has looked lively.
Argentina stepped it up in the closing moments of the half, and Maxi Rodriguez saw a left-footed effort well saved by Tzorvas, who then tipped over a long-range Messi effort.
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