Greece held by North Korea

Greece 2-2 North Korea
Greece were held to a 2-2 draw by fellow FIFA World Cup finalists North Korea as the two sides continued their preparations for the summer tournament with a friendly in Altach, Austria.
 
Greece scored at the beginning of either half but were pegged back each time by North Korea, for whom Jong Tae-Se scored twice.

Otto Rehhagel's men were quick to jump out of the blocks and just seconds after kick-off were nearly in front only for Dimitris Salpingidis to be denied by goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk. However, they did not have to wait long to find the net – only two minutes had elapsed when Fanis Gekas set up Kostas Katsouranis for an easy finish.

North Korea responded well and equalised midway through the first half via a thunderous long-range effort from Jong. Soon after they nearly went in front when captain Hong Yong-Jo's free-kick struck the crossbar. The Greeks were back in the ascendancy three minutes after the interval, Giorgos Karagounis crossing for Angelos Charisteas to volley in from close range – his first goal for his country in 19 months.

Once again, though, their opponents replied. Jong was again the goalscorer, dribbling past Nikos Spyropoulos and driving in another eye-catching effort in the 52nd minute. Greece start their Group B campaign against South Korea on 12 June in a section that also includes Argentina and Nigeria.