NATAL, Brazil, June 19  -- Japan was held to a goalless draw by ten-man Greece in their lethargic Brazil World Cup Group C match here on Thursday after squandering numerous scoring chances.

Greek skipper Costas Katsouranis was out after picking up his second yellow card in the 38th minute as he slid in and mistimed his challenge on Japan's captain Makoto Hasebe. However Japan still found it difficult to score though they had a 68 percent of ball possession in the match.

With Japan losing its opener 2-1 to Cote d'Ivoire and Greece getting thumped 3-0 by Colombia, both teams desperately need a win to stay in contention to qualify for the last 16 knockout stage of football's biggest international tournament.

"This is a match that we must win and we spare no effort as our ball possession near 70%, however the result is not satisfactory," said Japanese coach Alberto Zaccheroni. "We are too slow in passing, running and shooting, so that our opponents could make a solid defence using their physical advantage."

The draw, however, kept both teams of qualifying hopes alive as Colombia beat Cote d'Ivoire 2-1 in the other Group C match. As Colombia has nailed a ticket to the last 16, there is one spot in the group left for grab. Japan will play Colombia and Greece will face Cote d'Ivoire in the final group round on Tuesday

"The red card of Katsouranis changed the pace of the match as Japan took control afterwards," Greece coach Fernando Santos admitted. "But now other three teams in this group all have chances to enter the knock-out stage, we still have to be fully prepared."

Japan's Shinji Kagawa was left on the bench as the Manchester United player struggled to make an impact in the first match. While Kostas Mitroglou, Greece's top scorer in qualifying, was in the starting 11 for Greece, but he got injured in the 35th minutes and was substituted by Theofanis Gekas.

Japan controlled the rhythm at the beginning but it was Greece that created the threat first. Just four minutes into the match, Mitroglou found space in the Japanese penalty area, but his shot was just over the bar. Six minutes later, Panagiotis Kone broke free of the Japanese midfield after taking the ball inside his own half, but his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.

The Blue Samurai fought back in the 21st minute, Yuya Osako curled an effort from long range, which flashed wide of goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis' left-hand post.

Though Katsouranis was off in the 38th minute, Greek didn't give up as Vasilis Torosidis hammered a shot which forced Kawashima to dive to his left and turned it round the post.

After a goalless first half, Shinji Kagawa was brought on in the 57th minute to strengthen Japanese attack. However they still failed to break down the ten men of Greece.

On 68 minutes, Atsuto Uchida hit the ball across the goal, providing Yoshito Okubo with a perfect opportunity to open the scoring, but he blazed over from close range.

Three minutes later, Japan was given another opportunity as Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos inexplicably dribbled across his own six yard box before Atsuto Uchida came in with a shot, which just went wide.