Russia, Poland are eliminated from Euro 2012

Co-host Poland and Group A favorite Russia crashed out of the European Championship on Saturday, as the Czech Republic and Greece scored 1-0 wins to advance to the quarterfinals.

Greece upset Russia 1-0 with a first-half goal from captain Giorgos Karagounis on Saturday to reach the Euro 2012 quarter-finals and knock their opponents out of the tournament.

In Wroclaw, Poland — Petr Jiracek scored a second-half winner to give the Czech Republic a 1-0 victory over Poland on Saturday and a place in the quarterfinals of the European Championship.

Czech Republic v Polan

The co-hosts utterly controlled the first half, but for all the passion, running and attempts at scoring, the key weaknesses in the team was exposed.Missed opportunities abounded and the momentum of heartfelt pride was not enough to decide the game.

Meanwhile, all it took was one strike from Czech midfielder Petr Jiracek in the 72nd minute to bring an end to the Euro 2012 dreams of 40 million Poles.

The Czech Republic finished first after three Group A matches and Greece was runner-up in the four-team group. The bottom two teams in each group of four are eliminated from the tournament.

Greece v Russia

Greece used the same quiet, defensive determination it used to win Euro 2004, a waiting game relying on corners, free kicks and mistake by opposition to squeeze out a win.

Russia turned out not to be sharp anywhere on the pitch, not least in the closing seconds of the first half when making Giorgos Karagounis a present of a goal.