SALZBURG, Austria — No miracles for the Greeks in this European Championship.

Greece's four-year reign as European champion officially ended today after a 1-0 loss to Russia eliminated the team from the tournament.

"Back in 2004, a miracle happened, but that happens maybe every 30 years," said their German coach Otto Rehhagel. "Otherwise, if it happened every week, it wouldn't be a miracle."

The Greeks needed at least a draw to stay in contention in Group D, but Konstantin Zyryanov's 33rd-minute goal, combined with Spain's 2-1 win over Sweden, left the surprise 2004 champions with nothing to play for in their third and final match. The result also put Spain into the European Championship quarterfinals.

Zyryanov's third international goal in 14 appearances came after Sergei Semak acrobatically sent a pass back across the net, with goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis chasing the loose ball.

"They showed tonight that they know what a high-level, high-standard football is," Russia coach Guus Hiddink said about his players, who lost to Spain 4-1 in their opener. "I'm very happy they reacted very fast."

Greece became the fourth defending champion eliminated from the first round of the European Championship. Germany was knocked out at the same stage in both the 1984 and 2000 tournaments, and Denmark followed its remarkable run to the title in 1992 by going out in the first round in '96.

Greece nearly equalized in the 87th minute when Angelos Charisteas knocked the ball into an empty net, but Fanis Gekas was whistled for offside

"Unfortunately — and this is not new — we don't score goals," Rehhagel said. "We kept our tight defense to go forward and score. What I liked was the passion we showed against a good Russian team." .Russia, despite playing without the suspended Andrei Arshavin or injured Pavel Pogrebnyak, still attacked relentlessly, and it paid off with the match's only goal.