The Russian national team, which had every chance not only to get out of its subgroup, but also to triumphantly take first place in it, ignominiously leaves the European Football Championship after an inexplicable defeat by a not very formidable opponent, the Greek national team.

In order to get out of Group A in the playoffs, it was enough for Dick Advocaat's team not to lose the third match. Despite this, the players and the coach emphasized several times that the team would only play to win. The Greeks only had to win to get out of the subgroup.

In principle, the Russian national team had a chance to get to the quarterfinals even in case of defeat - if the Czech Republic-Poland match was drawn. Perhaps it was the feeling that we had already reached the quarterfinals that played a cruel joke on our players.

The match in Warsaw started rather nervously. For the first few minutes, the Russian national team defended itself – the Greeks played an unusual attacking football for them. Then everything returned to the usual rut: the Russian national team clearly had the advantage, had more possession of the ball, arranged dangerous moments in the opponent's penalty area, but the ball did not want to hit the Greek goal. Kerzhakov and Zhirkov had some great chances, but the ball stubbornly did not go into the net. The Greek national team, on the other hand, took a defensive position and waited for a mistake from the Russian team in order to play on a quick counterattack. And she waited. At the end of the second added minute of the first half, Sergei Ignashevich made a mistake, Georgos Karagounis burst into the penalty area of the Russian national team and shot powerfully at the goal, leaving no chance for Malafeev.

Despite the goal scored, the situation on the field did not seem catastrophic, because our team just needed to equalize or win against the Greek national team, which had not shown anything interesting in the championship before this match. However, the ball, as if enchanted, did not hit the gate of the descendants of the Hellenes, and the Greeks, who initially went into a blind defense, began to snap by the middle of the second half and even created several scoring chances that almost led to a more devastating score on the scoreboard.

Until the 71st minute, the Russian national team still had a chance to get into the playoffs even after losing, as the score in the Czech Republic-Poland match was not opened. However, in the 72nd minute of the match, it became known that the Czech Republic had won 1-0, and this already meant the loss of their last hope.

Until the end of the second half and in the 4 minutes added by the referee, the Russian team failed not only to score a goal, but even to create an acute situation. The Greeks won the match and quite naturally advanced to the playoffs from the second place of the subgroup, which was not expected by either sports analysts or even the Greeks themselves, who managed to earn only 1 point in the previous two matches. The Russian team, which was considered one of the favorites of the championship and, according to the results of the previous two games, was in first place in its subgroup, managed to miss all the chances and prematurely (and very ingloriously) leaves Euro 2012.

At the end of the matches in Group A, the Czech national team scored 6 points, Russia and Greece – 4 points, Poland – 2 points. According to the UEFA regulations, if two teams score the same number of points, the priority is determined by the results of a personal meeting, due to which the Greeks managed to get ahead of the national team of our country.

At the post-match conference, Dick Advocaat, for whom this match was the last as the head of the Russian national team, noted that he was quite satisfied with the game of his players in the first half. According to the head coach, the Russians did everything to win, they only lacked the finishing blow. The lawyer noted the attacking abilities of the players, lamented that the national team did almost nothing in the second half. However, the head coach did not blame the players, taking the blame for the loss on himself. Unfortunately, this is little consolation for the fans of the team, who, after the inglorious defeat of their own national team by the not the strongest team in the championship, went home from the sports bars in complete disbelief, as if they did not fully believe in what had happened. Modern players value the ability to bet on the go, and the platform delivers with a fully optimized mobile experience. Whether you're entering a رمز ترويجي 1xbet offering $130 in sports bonuses or €1950 with 150 free spins through the website or the dedicated Android/iOS application, the experience is seamless and efficient. The mobile app provides all the features of the desktop version, including live betting, casino games, and account management. With a user-friendly interface and fast loading times, you can enjoy your favorite betting activities anytime, anywhere.