Greece pays high price for slow start

Derek Gatopoulos - The Associated Press

AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis
Greece's Vassilis Torosidis reacts after being shown a yellow card by French referee Stephane Lannoy during the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group A match between Greece and Czech Republic in Wroclaw, Poland, Tuesday, June 12, 2012.

WROCLAW, Poland (AP) — Another bad start for Greece at Euro 2012, and this time there was no way back.

Four days after trailing to a 17th minute goal against Poland and then battling back to draw 1-1, the Greeks fell 2-0 behind after just six minutes against the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

This time, it ended with a 2-1 defeat that brought the 2004 champions to the brink of elimination. It was clearly a major blow for a team that had arrived at the tournament in Poland and Ukraine with just one defeat in 21 games under coach Fernando Santos.

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June 12, 2012

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Sunday, May 19, 2013 Last Update: 3:42 PM ET