Greece beats Slovakia 1-0 in FIFA world cup qualifier

Athens, Oct 12 (IANS) In a crucial FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifying game held in Athens, Greece’s national team beat Slovakia 1-0 Friday evening.

Slovak centre back Martin Skrtel scored an own goal on the 44th minute of the match at Karaiskaki stadium, handing the victory to the hosts, Xinhua reported.

The result brings Greece closer to the next phase of the World Cup qualifiers in Group G and diminishes Slovakia’s hopes to win the ticket to Brazil.

Group winners qualify directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, while the best runners-ups advance to play-offs to determine the qualifiers. Bosnia currently tops the five-team Group G with Greece ranking second.

On Oct 15, Greece will face Liechtenstein in Athens.