The Greeks took an early lead on seven minutes as a blunder from the Chelsea bound Portuguese defender Paulo Ferriera allowed Georgios Karagounis the chance to score the first goal of the tournament. It was of no surprise to the Greeks who had seen their country go on a fine run during the qualifying stages of the tournament but many pundits predicted it would be a walk in the part for host nation Portugal but their star names Figo, Rui Costa and Pauleta just did not perform to the standards which have made them household names.
After the half time interval the much coveted midfielder Deco and Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo entered the fray from the substitutes bench as the Portugese looked for an equaliser. However it turned from bad to worse as full back Georgios Seitaridis was felled in the area by Ronaldo and Angelis Basinas stepped up to convert the resulting penalty. Ronaldo did pull back a consolation in injury time with a free header but it was too little to late for the host nation. For Stelios it marked a continuation of progress for his nation, the only down side was that the midfielder was replaced midway through the second half with a slight injury but this is not expected to put a negative spin on celebrations for the Greeks who fully deserved their win.