Soccer: Greece thump Gibraltar to claim playoff spot

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece thumped Gibraltar 4-0 on Tuesday to claim second place in their World Cup qualifying group and a spot in the European playoff round.

The Greeks had to wait for more than half an hour to break down their table-propping opponents, finally going ahead when captain Vasilis Torosidis scored with a diving header from Zeca's cross in the 32nd minute.

Striker Kostas Mitroglou scored twice in three minutes just after the hour and substitute Giannis Gianniotas claimed the fourth in the 78th minute.

Greece finished behind Belgium with 19 points from 10 games in Group H to ensure they progressed to the playoffs as one of the best eight runners-up in the nine European groups. Slovakia, who were second in Group F, missed out on a playoff spot.

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Ken Ferris)