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Greece win sends Spain to playoffs
YEREVAN, Armenia -- Spain thrashed Armenia 4-0 but had to settle for a place in the playoffs after group leaders Greece edged a 1-0 win at home to bottom-of-the-table Northern Ireland on Saturday. An early strike from Deportivo Coruna playmaker Juan Carlos Valeron, another from Raul and a double from substitute Jose Antonio Reyes ensured Spain of the win. But with a Vassilis Tsartas penalty giving Greece a home victory their efforts were to no avail. Valeron gave Spain the perfect start when he struck from five meters with a sharp first-time shot after winger Joseba Etxeberria had scampered down the right and cut a neat pass back into the area on seven minutes.. But they failed to cash in a string of good scoring opportunities in the remainder of the first half and had to endure a nervous spell as Armenia found their feet after the break. It was not until Raul grabbed his 35th goal in 66 appearances when he also scored from five meters that Spain were able to relax. They finished the game with a flourish when Reyes grabbed two late goals to give them a comprehensive win -- but there is still plenty of work to do if they are to reach the finals in Portugal. The Greeks, who last played in a major tournament at the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States, have now won their last six matches. Tsartas's spot kick came after Irish defender George McCartney was shown the red card for bringing down the charging Zisis Vryzas inside the area. Northern Ireland have gone a European record 13 matches without scoring but part-time striker Andrew Smith, on as a sub, missed a golden chance to spoil the party when he fired wide with 11 minutes to go. Bolton's Stelios Giannakopoulos then nearly doubled the Greece lead in the 85th minute, shaving the bar with a neat lob. Former Bundesliga-winning coach Otto Rehhagel -- he was at Werder Bremen --saluted the team spirit within his Greek side. He added: "Right now is the time to celebrate. We have time ahead of Portugal to build the team. But we won't be going there just to take part, we'll be looking to do something."
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