WARSAW, Poland – In the second quarterfinal at Euro 2012, Germany plays Greece on Friday. Here's the best of the action and match-day excitement. All times are local to Poland.
___
2213: GOAL! Germany 3, Greece 1 (Klose).
___
2210: Magnificent goal by Khedira and Germany has the lead again thanks to his ferocious strike. The ball comes in from the right by Oezil, over the head of Klose but into the path of Khedira, who volleys the ball on the run into the net, past the despairing hand of Sifakis.
___
2206: GOAL! Germany 2, Greece 1 (Khedira).
___
2203: Unbelievable! Greece, outplayed significantly in the first half, has clawed itself level against Germany. Salpingidis is played away down the right and escapes Philipp Lahm. The Greek striker sends over a perfectly-weighted cross and finds Samaras, who gets ahead of Boateng in the center and prods the ball underneath Neuer and into the net. Incredible scenes and the Greeks, somehow, are back in this.
2200: GOAL! Germany 1, Greece 1 (Samaras).
___
2159: From AP photographer Michael Sohn, pitchside: German fans are singing, 'We paid for your tickets!'
___
2151: The players are out for the second half and Germany will get it underway. Two half time changes for Greece, Fanis Gekas and Giorgis Fotakis for Ninis and Tzavellas.
___
2137: The statistics don't lie: Germany had 70 percent of possession in the first half. And look at this: Passes completed by the Germans — 344. Greece? 78. Germany has the lead and the mystery is how it is only by one goal. They have been by far the better side, dominating from the very first minute and have created numerous chances.
___
HALF-TIME: Germany 1, Greece 0.
___
2130: Germany continues its dominance as it looks to double its lead before half time. Schuerrle cuts in from the left and tries to curl a shot goalwards, but his attempt is deflected out for a corner, which Greece manages to clear.
___
2128: It's a fantastic goal from Lahm, but Greece's defending here is abject to say the least. He receives the ball on the left from Khedira and chests the ball down, skips forward and releases a swerving, dipping shot from outside the penalty area into the far corner of the net. Siafkis got a fingertip to it, but the shot was too powerful for him to push it round the post. The Greeks are punished for standing off the left back and Germany deservedly has the lead.
___
2124: GOAL! Germany 1, Greece 0 (Lahm).
___
2119: Germany coach Joachim Loew looks furious on the sideline at how wasteful his side has been so far, after Reus fires another effort wide from the edge of the penalty area. Is he worried that his decision to drop Podolski, Gomez and Mueller will come back to haunt him?
___
2111: This could be a long night for the Greeks. They're pinned back in their half and the Germans are coming forward in waves but just can't hit the target. Klose comes very close to scoring but can't quite stretch far enough to connect with a cross right in front of goal. Merkel, in the stands, has her hands over her mouth looking at that latest missed chance.
___
2105: gdunbarap: Torrential rain this morning in Gdansk and most seems to have fallen in the Greece penalty area. Slippery and cutting up badly (via Twitter).
___
2102: Giorgos Samaras has become the first player to be shown a yellow card tonight after three robust challenges. He ploughed through Khedira twice before clipping the ankle of Schweinsteiger, and he is eventually booked by the referee with the German captain down and in pain.
___
2059: Reus now goes close for Germany. Khedira picks out his forward with a neat first-time through ball and Reus lets fly with a left-footed shot, but drags it wide of the near post.
___
2053: The ball is in the back of the net already for Germany, but Klose's effort is ruled out for offside. Khedira hits a low shot at goal from far out and Sofakis spills it out to the midfielder running into the area in anticipation of a mistake, but the flag is raised as the German captain pokes the ball in. Sofakis got clattered as he tried to claim the ball back and is down for a few minutes, but will be OK to continue. Very bright start from Germany, who are passing the ball around nicely.
___
2045: And they're underway. Both sets of fans respectfully listen to the national anthems. Tension? What tension?
___
2035: Derek Gatopoulos, AP's reporter with the Greek team: "The Greek fans were first to appear in force, a block of about 500 arrived chanting 'Hellas, Hellas'. The atmosphere is overwhelmingly friendly. Again, many Greek fans appear to have traveled from Germany and there were loud boos from them as the German players ran onto the pitch to warm up. They unfurled a giant flag but it was upside down, so they rolled it back up again."
___
1955: German coach Joachim Loew must be confident of getting a result tonight! He's dropped his three main forwards, including leading striker Mario Gomez who is replaced by veteran Miroslav Klose. Loew also drops Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller, giving Andre Schuerrle and Marco Reus their first starts at the tournament. A fourth change sees Jerome Boateng return as right back after serving a one-match suspension, with Lars Bender returning to the bench.
___
1950: Tonight's teams:
Germany: Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Holger Badstuber, Phillipp Lahm, Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinstiger, Mesut Ozil, Andre Schuerrle, Marco Reus, Miroslav Klose.
Greece: Michalis Sifakis, Giannis Maniatis, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Vasilis Torosidis, Giorgos Tzavellas, Konstantinos Katsouranis, Grigoris Makos, Sotiris Ninis, Dimitrios Salpingidis, Georgios Samaras.
___
1930: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in the stadium tonight, sitting next to UEFA chief Michel Platini. I wonder how the Greek fans will react when her image is — inevitably — beamed up onto the big screen. The new prime minister of Greece, Antonis Samaras, won't be traveling. "The prime minister is a football fanatic and will be watching the game on television," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said. He is also due to undergo eye surgery on Saturday.
___
1900: Less than two hours to go until the most politically-charged match of Euro 2012 — and it couldn't have been scripted better. Greece, whose economy has imploded, is up against Germany, which has insisted on deep austerity cuts in return for bailout funds. So much to play for tonight in terms of national pride. The Germans are overwhelming favorites, but the Greeks will be raring to go.
___
1845: There is a huge German contingent in Gdansk, but the Greeks are making some serious noise. And the build-up to the match has been peaceful and vibrant around the city.
___
1830: The Berlin Morgenpost runs the headline: "Dear Greeks, we're not helping you today!" Inside, there's a cartoon showing a Greek player wearing a German shirt with Germany written across the chest, saying "We're Greece - They're just our sponsors."
___
1820: In Germany, the best-selling daily Bild led with: "Bye bye Greece; we can't rescue you today."
___
1815: The Greek press is in overdrive for tonight's match. Sports paper 'Derby' shows an ancient Greek warrior clad in full armor and clutching a spear in mid-stride as if charging at the reader, with the headline 'Molon Lave' meaning 'Come and Take it' — Spartan king Leonidas' famous retort to Xerxes' call to surrender in the battle of Thermopylae.
___
1800: From AP's Graham Dunbar in Gdansk: "On Friday, thousands of fans from the two nations at opposite ends of the Eurozone financial crisis are converging on neutral Polish turf for a European Championship quarterfinal match. For Greece fans, Friday's clash in rainy Gdansk inevitably mixes sports and politics, Euro 2012 and the euro currency. They seek respect for their country after its humiliating economic collapse — and the German government's role in imposing austerity measures."
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.