Latvia holds Greece 1-1 in Euro 2012 qualifier

Published Sep. 6, 2011 10:44 p.m. ET

foxsports

Latvia held Greece to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday, denting Greek hopes of qualifying for Euro 2012.

The Latvians went ahead when Aleksandrs Caunas' low shot beat Greek goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis in the 19th minute.

The hosts survived a barrage of chances from the visitors until Kyriakos Papadopoulos equalized from a Giannis Maniatis' corner with six minutes left.

Greece chased a winning goal but Giorgos Samaras missed twice before the final whistle.

Bulgarian referee Stanislav Todorov dished out seven yellow cards in a feisty Group F encounter at the Skonto Stadium in Riga.

Greece, coming off the back of a 1-0 win over Israel on Saturday, maintained their unbeaten run in the group but lost first place to Croatia, which beat Israel 3-1 in Zagreb. Greece will play Croatia at home on Oct. 7.

Despite the spirited display against the 2004 European champion Greece, Latvia has no chance of qualifying for Euro 2012.

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Lineups:

Latvia: Andris Vanins, Pavels Mihadjuks, Oskars Klava, Ritus Krjauklis, Aleksandrs Fertovs, Deniss Ivanovs, Olegs Laizans, Aleksandrs Cauna, Maris Verpakovskis (Artjoms Rudnjevs, 68), Aleksejs Visnakovs (Jurijs Zigajevs, 83), Ivans Lukjanovs.

Greece: Michalis Sifakis, Giannis Zaradoukas, Grigoris Makos (Girogos Georgiadis, 81), Giorgos Samaras, Nikos Liberopolous, Giorgos Karagounis, Loukas Vyntra (Giannis Maniatis, 72), Dimitris Salpingdis, Sokratis Papastathopolous, Kyriakos Papadopolous, Giannis Fetfatzidis (Alexandros Tziolis, 46).