Greece defended doggedly to hold Japan to a goalless draw despite playing over half of the match with ten men.
With both teams having lost their opening World Cup Group C matches, the pressure was on to achieve a positive result in Natal. However, once Greek captain Kostas Katsouranis had been sent off for a second bookable offence, the Europeans sat back in numbers.
The outcome means that though neither team is eliminated from the tournament, both will be outsiders for Last 16 qualification heading into next week's final matchday.
Click here for a match report and reaction on Football Italia.
