Greece draws 2-2 against Sweden

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) -- Greece and Sweden played to a 2-2 draw in a friendly game Wednesday.

The match signaled the start of Greece's preparation for the preliminary rounds of the 2004 European Championships.

For Sweden, it was part of preparation for its participation in Group F in the 2002 World Cup.

Greece failed to qualify for the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. It faces Spain, Ukraine, Northern Ireland and Armenia in Group Six qualifiers for Euro 2004.

Greece's German coach Otto Rehhagel had said his team needed a tough opponent for the start of that effort and "Sweden is such a squad."

In Wednesday's game, there were almost no chances in the first 30 minutes of the match with the Swedes' tight pressing playing a key role.

The visitors took the lead in the 31st with Magnus Svensson off a pass from Andres Svensson.

The Swedes almost added another when a lob from Marcus Allbaeck was cleared by Sotiris Kyrgiakos.

The Greek players charged forward after the rest period and leveled with a header by Takis Fyssas in the 53rd after a melee in front of the Swedish goal mouth.

Eleven minutes later, the visitors again took the lead with Stefan Selakovic who received a deep pass from his team's defense.

Six minutes before the end of the game, Giorgos Karagounis made the final 2-2 with a ground hugging shot from the edge of the box.

 

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