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NATAL, Brazil, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Japan was held goalless by 10-man Greece in their lethargic Brazil World Cup Group C match here on Thursday after squandering numerous scoring chances here on Thursday.
The Greek skipper Katsouranis was out after picking up his second yellow card in the 38th minute as he slid in and mistimed his challenge on Japan's captain Hasebe. However Japan still found difficult to score though they had a 68% ball possession advantage in the do-or-die match.
With Japan losing its opener 2-1 to Cote d'Ivoire and Greece getting thumped 3-0 by Colombia, both teams desperately need a win to stay in contention to qualify for the last 16 knockout stage of football's biggest international tournament.
In another match in Group C, Colombia beat Cote d'Ivoire 2-1 and with the goalless draw between Japan and Greece, Colombia advance to the knockout stages.
The Greek skipper Katsouranis was out after picking up his second yellow card in the 38th minute as he slid in and mistimed his challenge on Japan's captain Hasebe. However Japan still found difficult to score though they had a 68% ball possession advantage in the do-or-die match.
With Japan losing its opener 2-1 to Cote d'Ivoire and Greece getting thumped 3-0 by Colombia, both teams desperately need a win to stay in contention to qualify for the last 16 knockout stage of football's biggest international tournament.
In another match in Group C, Colombia beat Cote d'Ivoire 2-1 and with the goalless draw between Japan and Greece, Colombia advance to the knockout stages.