Greece had a mountain to climb in Athens and they got off to a bright start, knocking the ball around with urgency to pile early pressure on Croatia, who came out with the predetermined game plan of letting the clock run from the start.
Given the visitors' huge advantage, even the Greek fans had reservations over their options of being in Russia. Travelling fans were made to stay at home and only Greece supporters were allowed inside the Karaiskakis Stadium, but the venue's 32,000 capacity was not reached.
And the unforeseen change of pace brought the stadium to life as Greece asked questions at Croatia's back line in search of a goal to pile pressure on Zlatko Dalic's men. Dortmund defender Sokratis came close after 17 minutes when he flashed a well-struck volley agonisingly wide of the post.
Knocking the ball around confidently, Greece were on top in the early moments of the game, but they always lacked that cutting edge in the final third that wins you matches. Croatia have that threatening quality, with the likes of Perisic or Kalinic infusing fear in Greek hearts every time they picked up the ball and closed in on Karnezis.
Minutes went by and the hosts' frustrations grew. Every decision by referee Bjorn Kuipers was heatedly protested by players and fans alike and Croatia never seemed concerned by the occasional Greek raids.
The visitors idly watched the clock run down with sporadic flashes of quality that offered a reminder of their potential up front. Towards the end of the first half, Perisic attempted to extinguish Greek hopes unleashing a venomous left-footed strike which swerved in the air before smacking off the inside the post.
The home side looked less buoyant as they came out for the second half and the fans grew quieter with the game gradually meandering nowhere. Mitroglou fired a long-range effort wide of the post as Croatia continued to knock the ball around largely untroubled, with Modric and Rakitic barely breaking a sweat.
Late substitutions breathed new life into the fixture and Greece managed to set the tempo in the dying minutes. The first shot on target came after 86 minutes, Tachtsidis sending a half-volley into the hands of Subasic, before the referee brought the drab affair to an end to finish Greece's World Cup dream.