Japan, Greece avoid elimination with scoreless tie

NATAL, Brazil (AP) - Reduced to 10 men after captain Costas Katsouranis was sent off in the 38th minute with his second booking, Greece held on for a 0-0 draw with Japan on Thursday that kept both alive in Group C and sent rival Colombia through to the knockout round of the World Cup.

Both teams inserted new strikers in search of goals and a first win, but ultimately the main objective was survival and both achieved that with one match left in group play. Japan would have been eliminated with a loss.

Once Katsouranis was sent off after a rough challenge on Makoto Hasebe, Greece withdrew into a defensive setup and held firm. Japan pressed the attack after halftime and had several chances to score.

The best came in the 68th minute when Shinji Kagawa played a long pass over the top to Atsuto Uchida, who sent it back across the middle to Yoshito Okubo, who blasted the volley over the net.

Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis made a diving save in injury time to preserve the draw.