Greece’s national football team gave Greeks across the globe even more reason to celebrate on 25 March, after managing to escape defeat at the World Cup qualifiers.
The Spanish hosts dominated most of the game, with a strong 1-0 lead in the first 33 minutes of the match thanks to Alvaro Morata shooting from close range, shortly after an attempt by Dani Olmo had hit the crossbar.
The Greek front were quiet for most of the game, barely attacking for the first 55 minutes whilst the Spaniards played their own game of possession.
In the second half, the pace picked up and John van’t Schip’s men were able to break through to equalise the score.
Spanish defender Iñigo Martinez attempted a save, stretching his leg inside the box to meet Giorgos Massouras’ knee giving the Greek’s a chance at a penalty.
Anastasios Bakasetas turned the opportunity into a win 11 minutes into the second half bringing the score to 1-1.
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Morata who is currently on loan at Juventus from Atletico Madrid tried to come back to grab the win for Spain but the team struggled to create any clear chances.
John van ‘Schip said he was proud of the effort of his footballers after the great draw in Granada, drawing a parallel between the “blue and white” match and the Greek Revolution of 1821.
Greece will host Honduras in a friendly on Sunday.
Cyprus drew 0-0 against Slovakia, despite a hard fought game from both sides.
The result left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Cypriot hosts, as the missed opportunities of the last 10 minutes made the goalkeeper guest Dubravka the protagonist of the match as it came to an end.
Cyprus will be heading over to Croatia to battle it out on Saturday evening.