Μake us preferred on Google Greece came agonizingly close to a landmark win over the Netherlands on Thursday, but a two-goal halftime lead wasn’t enough to secure all three points before a sold-out crowd at Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki. First-half goals from Fotis Ioannidis and Giorgos Masouras were erased by second-half strikes from Virgil van Dijk and Tijani Reijnders in a 2-2 Nations League draw.
Ivan Jovanović’s side pressed high from the start, winning duels, closing down space, and looking to get in behind the Dutch defense. Jurriën Timber had to beat Christos Tzolis to a Vangelis Pavlidis cutback early on, and in the 12th minute Tzolis found the net, only for the goal to be ruled out because an offside Pavlidis was blocking the goalkeeper’s line of sight. Two minutes later, Androutsos and Kostas Tsimikas both had shots blocked.
The breakthrough came in the 23rd minute. Goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis played a long ball forward, Masouras flicked it on, and Ioannidis raced clear before slotting a precise right-footed finish into the net. Just before halftime, Ioannidis pounced on a sloppy Dutch pass and squared it to Masouras, who finished first time for 2-0, sending Toumba into a frenzy.
The game turned after the break. Three Dutch substitutions brought a surge of pressure, and in the 59th minute Van Dijk rose highest to head home a Joey Veerman corner. Denzel Dumfries then had two goals disallowed for offside as Greece struggled to hold on.
Jovanović brought on Tetteh and Christos Zafeiris for Ioannidis and Pavlidis, then switched to a more defensive setup with Michailidis and Tasos Douvikas. Tzolakis made a superb save from a Joshua Zirkzee header in the 88th minute, but a minute later Noa Lang crossed, Zirkzee headed it back across goal, and Reijnders drove the ball home for 2-2.
Greece couldn’t find a winner in stoppage time, but the team remains unbeaten and atop the group heading into Sunday’s (Oct. 4) Matchday 4 showdown with Germany. Jovanović will have to make do without Christos Tzolis, however, as the winger has been ruled out of the clash due to an injury.
