Greece Heads for Mundial 2014

This is the third time the national team will go to international football's top competition, and the second consecutive time after playing on the fields of South Africa, in 2010.

The national team went on the pitch with the knowledge that the 3-1 they had scored in Karaiskakis stadium in Greece gave them a safe margin.

The goal by Kostas Mitroglou at the 23' was crucial since it wiped the advantage of the one goal Romania scored in Piraeus.

Greek fans temporarily froze when at 55' a preposterous self-goal came from the feet of Vasilis Torosidis, but the team pulled through with the Romanians giving up a few minutes from the end.

The ref's whistle was the signal for frenzied partying and celebrations with players tossing coach Fernando Santos in the air and the nearly 2000 Greeks that had traveled to Bucharest for the game going wild, in front of 50,000 very solemn Romanians.

In any event, Romanian fans threw a smoke bomb onto the playing field, without any injuries.