In the quarter-final held on Wednesday afternoon in Paris, Greece was narrowly defeated 12-11 by Serbia, resulting in Greece now competing for places 5-8 in the Olympic Games.

Greece played valiantly but struggled to contain Dusan Madic, who scored five goals. The decisive goal came from Jaksic with just 3 seconds remaining. Angelos Vlachopoulos had equalized at 11-11 with only 6 seconds left, but Jaksic’s late strike sealed the victory for Serbia, who advanced to the semi-finals.

Greece will now face either the USA or Australia for places 5-8.

The Match

Greece started strongly, with Papanikolaou scoring from a penalty at 7:18. Madic equalized at 6:07, and Vlachopoulos put Greece back in the lead with a powerful shot from 7 meters at 4:15. Rasovic then equalized again at 4:32, but Fundoulis restored Greece’s lead with another penalty at 3:13. The first period ended with a goal from Rasovic, making it 3-3.

Serbia began the second period with a goal from Madic for a 4-3 lead, but Kakkaris quickly equalized. Rasovic scored again for 5-4, and Papanastasiou equalized once more. Madic’s shot from 6 meters gave Serbia a 6-5 lead at halftime.

In the third period, Genidounias equalized with a penalty at 7:39, but Filipovic saved another penalty attempt by Vlachopoulos. Skoubakis then scored to make it 7-6, and after another goal from Rasovic, Skoubakis scored again to give Greece an 8-7 lead. Rasovic tied the game at 8-8, but Skoubakis’s third consecutive goal ended the period with Greece leading 9-8.

In the final period, Rasovic tied the game at 9-9, but Gillas made it 10-9 for Greece on a man-up attack. Nemanja equalized at 10-10, and Madic’s goal at 2:33 put Serbia ahead 11-10. Vlachopoulos equalized at 11-11 with just 6 seconds left, but Jaksic’s last-second goal sent Serbia to the semi-finals.

Period Scores

1st: 3-3 2nd: 2-3 3rd: 4-2 4th: 2-4