Greece, Japan eye improvement - 6pm et/3pm pt (TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, TEAM 1410) Natal, Brazil - Two teams hoping to rebou

Greece, Japan eye improvement - 6pm et/3pm pt (TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, TEAM 1410) Natal, Brazil - Two teams hoping to rebound from tough opening-game losses will meet when Greece clashes with Japan in Group C action Thursday at Estadio das Dunas. DJ Moore Womens Jersey . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. The Elephants picked up serious momentum in the second half, though, scoring in the 64th and 66th minutes to pull ahead and grab a 2-1 victory. Both teams will be looking to hang onto their hopes of pushing through to the knockout stage with a crucial three points. Greek midfielder Georgios Samaras insisted there was reason for his side to remain positive moving forward after being held without a goal. "We have more to give at this tournament, but I think we showed something today," he said. "It was a strange game. For the first five or six minutes, we didnt seem to be 100 percent in it and we conceded a bad goal. But after that, we had a lot of possession, a lot of pressure, and created some quite good chances." Japan boss Alberto Zaccheroni claimed his men gave their all but were not quite cohesive enough. "We werent aggressive enough and we need to improve on that because weve been playing better than that," he said. Honda had his own take on where things went wrong, believing that Japan didnt have enough possession. "Possession, that is our strength," said Honda. "When we have the ball we just need to keep the ball and not give it away easily. When we do lose the ball we should press immediately. That is our philosophy. The last game we lost the ball too easily so that is how we spent a lot of energy in the first half, that is the point. That is why we must concentrate on keeping the ball." Given the defensive lapses that contributed heavily to these teams opening- match defeats, Greece will be looking to build on those aforementioned positives, while Japan will be hoping to stay composed for a full 90 minutes and do better on the ball. Both teams will also be hoping for a draw in the match between Colombia and Ivory Coast, the two teams looming overhead at the top of the group. Greg Little Youth Jersey . Moments after scoring and setting off another wild celebration at Minsk arena, Platt leapt into the arms of Belarusian captain Alexei Kalyuzhny. Will Grier Panthers Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-christian-miller-panthers-jersey/ . -- C.J. Wilson parked his car and laughed while signing autographs for faceless fans who handed bats, balls and cards to the pitcher from the other side of a brick wall.OSTERSUND, Sweden - Martin Fourcade overcame four penalties and windy conditions to win the mens 12.5-kilometre pursuit on Sunday for his second victory in two days at the biathlon World Cup.The Frenchman finished in 33 minutes, 54.9 seconds. Russias Anton Shipulin, with one penalty, was 10 seconds behind. Norways Emil Hegle Svendsen was third with two penalties, trailing Fourcade by 26.3 seconds.Calgarys Nathan Smith was 16th in 35:25.8.Fourcade, a double Olympic champion in Sochi, finished 81st in the mens 20K individual race earlier this week. He regained his form on Saturday by winning the 10K sprint with clean shooting and leading from start to finish.The most important thing I am taking away from here is confidence, Fourcade said after Sundays race.Smith was on pace with the leaders until his final stop at the range, where he missed three shots,.Gliding onto the mat for that standing I had in my mind that a clean would probably guarantee a medal, Smith said. Unfortunately I missed my first three shots. I was feeling quite a bit of fattigue going in and I swear it was a little windier than normal for those 25 seconds. Luke Kuechly Jersey. In the womens event, Finlands Kaisa Makarainen clinched the 10K pursuit in 35:01.7 with three penalties.Ukraines Valj Semerenko was 47.9 seconds behind, beating Dorothea Wierer of Italy in a fight for second by just 0.4. Both women had four penalties.Rosanna Crawford of Canmore, Alta., was 14th in 36:50.0.My legs were tired from four races this week. It always takes a bit to get used to racing this much, said Crawford, who sits 12th overall in the World Cup standings. Overall Im happy with how the week went. I know there is so much potential this year so Im really looking forward to the rest of the season.Crawford missed one shot in each of her four rounds of shooting, which dropped her four spots in the standings.Missing one target isnt that bad, but when you miss one every time it can be pretty frustrating, she said. In 20-shot races you need to shoot 85 per cent if you are starting behind.— With files from The Canadian Press. ' ' '