Greece secured a precious 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the World Cup group stage competition on Thursday, keeping hopes alive after its defeat by South Korea last week.
Nigeria went ahead in the 16th minute after Kalu Uche drove home a free kick in the match at Free State stadium, but Dimitrios Salpingidis scored Greece's first ever World Cup goal in the 33rd minute after Nigeria's Sani Kaita was sent off over a red card for kicking Vassilis Torosidis in his thigh.
Torosidis added the team's winning goal against the 10-man Nigerian team in the 71st minute by taking advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, delivering his country's first victory in a World Cup match.
"Of course, it would have been a shame to go home without a point, so we're very pleased to have scored points here," Greece coach Otto Rehhagel said. "The team gave everything and showed how important the victory was for us. Now we have to finish the job against Argentina."
Trailing Argentina and South Korea, Greece is currently ranked third in Group B, followed by Nigeria. The upcoming South Kore-Nigeria and Greece-Argentina matches on June 22 will determine the two teams that will advance to the next stage.