( CNN ) -- Greece is through to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time in its history after a dramatic 2-1 win against Ivory Coast in Group C. Georgios Samaras kept a cool head to net from the penalty spot in injury time to seal second place in the group behind Colombia . It was a cruel blow for the Ivorians who were themselves on course to make the knockout stages for the first time after Wilfried Bony scored in the 74th minute . The Swansea City striker had leveled the scores after Andreas Samaris had put the Greeks ahead three minutes before the break . A draw would have been enough for Sabri Lamouchi 's side but Greece 's persistence paid off when Samaras fired home a spot kick after being brought down by substitute Giovanni Sio in the 91st minute . Victory means Fernando Santos ' side finish second in Group C with four points and will now face Group D winners Costa Rica who drew with England 0-0 earlier on Tuesday . Defeat not only brought Ivory Coast 's tournament to an end but also the reign of manager Lamouchi who announced he was stepping down shortly after the match . `` I have put a lot of time and effort into the past two years but unfortunately my story with Ivory Coast ends this evening , '' Lamouchi said . `` The outcome is a cruel one but the Greeks did not steal this victory . I am very disappointed and sad and also for the players and the Ivorian people , '' he added . Colombia , meanwhile , will meet Uruguay in Rio on Saturday after confirming top spot in the group with another convincing display . A 4-1 win against Japan in Cuiaba ensured Jose Pekerman 's side scored maximum points from their three matches . Juan Cuadrado gave Los Cafeteros the lead in the 17th minute -- firing home from the penalty spot after Yasuyuki Konno had brought down AdriÃ¡n Ramos . Japan drew level on the stroke of halftime when Shinji Okazaki headed home from Keisuke Honda 's cross before Colombia ran away with the match in the second half . Jackson Martinez netted on the hour mark after substitute James Rodriguez 's neat pass allowed the Porto striker to drill a low shot past goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima . Martinez added a third with eight minutes remaining before Rodriguez banged in a fourth in the last minute of the match . Colombia 's will have to wait to see if Uruguay , who claimed second spot in Group D after beating Italy 1-0 , will be fielding Luis Suarez . The mercurial striker was once again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons after appearing to bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the match in Natal . The incident , which happened moments before Uruguay scored the winning goal , was not seen by the referee but is being investigated by FIFA . Read more : Luis Suarez embroiled in new 'biting ' storm . Read more : How social media chewed up Luis Suarez .
Georgios Samaras ' injury time penalty sends Costa Rica into last 16 . Greece beat Colombia 2-1 to finish first in Uruguay beat Costa Rica 4-1 to confirm top spot in group . Colombia will face Uruguay in last 16 ; Greece to play Costa Rica .