Spain 1 Greece 1The Greeks linked hands and celebrated as if victorious at the end here, their every raucous cheer chasing their opponents back down the tunnel. For Spain, and their captain Raul in particular, there was little solace to be found in the post-match skulking in the dressing-room.

Frustration is welling up in Raul. Spain's captain was presented with the man of the match award by UEFA's technical committee but admitted he was "a little surprised" as much as flattered to receive the rather cumbersome silver trophy. The 26-year-old's confidence crisis has actually deepened and he retreated to the team hotel in Falperra last night with a horrible and decisive miss eating away at his soul.

Spain were leading through Fernando Morientes' goal, set up by his Real Madrid strike partner, when the excellent substitute Joaquin burst to the by-line nine minutes into the second half and crossed. Raul was unmarked at the far post six yards out but his leap was leaden-footed, that of a man stripped of self-belief, and the ball slapped against forehead and looped over. Greece were level soon after to leave Spanish hopes of progressing into the quarter-finals back in the balance.

Avoiding defeat against the hosts Portugal will definitely secure their passage and there was an undeniable sense of deflation here where once they had threatened to emerge with maximum points after two games.

"It'll be complicated and tense against the Portuguese, but I'm confident we can still progress," added Raul, as if to convince himself as well as the watching world.

"Greece were compact, physical and difficult to break down and I think these two teams will end up in the quarter-finals. It was a fair result."

For the Spanish partisans present it did not seem fair. Profligacy appears to be their nominated principal failing at this tournament and, had Raul converted, there would surely have been no way back for the Greeks. Instead they breathed again.

Vassilios Tsiartas emerged on the right flank to send a searing diagonal ball over Spain's back-line and, with Carles Puyol out of position, Angelos Charisteas collected, shot and watched as the ball fizzed off Iker Casillas' foot and up into the roof of the net.

Raul felt the reverse more than most. Four years ago it was his penalty, skied over the bar in Bruges, which cost Spain the chance of forcing extra-time against France. Les Bleus prevailed 2-1 and won the tournament; the Real Madrid striker and a nation cursed.There were plenty of nice flicks but little bite.

Dropping the captain and talisman would have seemed inconceivable not long ago and Inaki Saez consistently pledges his support for a player who has scored only five times in 2004.

Yet, unlike other teams in this tournament,the Spanish are awash with other mouth-watering options. Apart from the rejuvenated Morientes, in Juan Carlos Valeron they have a player who can turn games almost at will while the youngster Fernando Torres, raw but so refreshingly direct, will be wasted on the bench before too long.

The 20-year-old eventually replaced Raul 10 minutes from the end, though Saez said the change was tactical.

"We were playing with width by then and were putting plenty of crosses into the box, so I wanted a player up there in a more advanced role," said the coach. "Raul plays deeper than Torres. I'm not going to blame him for missing that chance.

"Anyone could miss an opportunity like that. Blaming a miss on one person, singling him out, is a little trivial."

At least the fluffed chance did not truly distort the result. Greece had set out to stifle, only to be prised apart early on and fall behind, but their response confounded Saez's prediction that this was a team who could not recover a deficit. They were strong, organised but never rigid.

Once Raul and Vicente Rodriguez had exploited Mihalis Kapsis's mistake to set up Morientes, dancing inside Konstantinos Katsouranis to hammer home his 23rd goal in 35 internationals, the Greeks merely adapted where Spain expected them to cave in.

Zisis Vryzas might have hauled them level only for Carlos Marchena, whose booking will rule him out of the final group game, to block. Traianos Dellas headed over, then did his best to weather the storm whipped up by Joaquin on the flank, before Charisteas plundered parity.

"We wanted to enjoy the victory," said the coach Otto Rehhagel through a rather optimistic translator.

Even a draw against Russia in Faro on Sunday - albeit without the suspended Giorgios Karagounis - will be enough for a side, who had not won a match at a major tournament prior to arriving in Portugal, to progress to the last eight.