Sarabia Penalty Gives Spain 1-0 Win In Greece

Athens, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Nov, 2021 ) :Spain beat stubburn Greece 1-0 with a first-half penalty by Pablo Sarabia on Thursday to set up a decisive World Cup qualifier against Sweden.

The Swedes crashed 2-0 in Georgia to sit second in Group B, one point behind Spain.

A win by either team in Seville will give them the top spot and a berth in the World Cup finals in Qatar while a draw would allow Spain to make the trip.

Greece had to win at the Athens Olympic Stadium to keep their hopes alive for second place but the defeat kept them in third place.

Sarabia, who plays for Sporting Lisbon, blasted the ball just behind the reach of Benfica goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos in the 26th minute.

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak awarded the penalty to the visitors when Greece defender Dimitris Giannoulis of Norwich City brought down Manchester City's defender Aymeric Laporte.

With three key midfielders missing due to injury, Greece failed to keep possession for long and Spain's superior strength in depth showed.

In the first half, Spain midfielder Koke cleverly passed the ball between three defenders to Raul de Tomas, but the Espanyol player missed a golden opportunity to score.

Another good chance for Spain came in the 36th minute when Juventus forward Alvaro Morata's effort was blocked by Vlachodimos.

Greece had the ball in the net in the 21st minute when Olympiakos striker Giorgos Masouras broke away and put the ball past Athletic Bilbao goalie Unai Simon, but the goal was ruled offside.

In the 79th minute defender Giorgos Tzavellas's header from a cross by Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas went just wide and Greece's hopes ebbed away.