Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis has put his side's 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast down to the 'passion and fight' shown by his teammates.

The win in Fortaleza, which was secured with a late Georgios Samaras penalty, ensured that the Ethniki would advance through to the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time.

Following the game, Karangounis told reporters: "We came here to advance from the group stage. We've never done it before, and we did in a great way.

"The goal should have come earlier. So God helped us in the end and we all thank him. We prevailed against the odds. We had passion and we had fight."

Greece will face Costa Rica in the next round for a place in the quarter-finals.