President of the Greek FA Sofoklis Pilavios has congratulated the Greece national team on beating Russia to reach the next round at Euro 2012.

Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis scored the winning goal to send his side through to the knockout stages of the competition at the end of the first half. Speaking afterwards, Pilavios said that it was well deserved.

"Congratulations to all the lads," he said. "I apologise for not being able to describe what happened.

"We are among the best teams in Europe and this is something important. It was something that we deserved."

Meanwhile, forward Georgios Samaras has said that he was "proud" of the win.