Greece delivered one of the greatest victories in its modern soccer history on Sunday, September 27, beating Germany 1-0 in Augsburg. Facing a German side coached by Jürgen Klopp, Ivan Jovanović’s team withstood relentless pressure, struck through Dimitris Kourbelis in the 74th minute, and walked away with a historic result.
It was Greece’s first-ever victory over Germany, and it made the team perfect through the first two rounds of group play. Goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis made a string of big saves, and the entire squad fought to the final whistle, earning a road win made all the more valuable by the caliber of the opponent and the manner in which it was achieved.
The match was scoreless until the 74th minute, when Vangelis Pavlidis read the space superbly and launched Greece forward with a brilliant switch of play. The ball found Kourbelis, who was squared up against the German defense. The veteran midfielder took his time. He shook off his marker with a feint, created room for a shot, and let fly. The ball deflected off a German defender, changed direction, and ended up in the net. The Augsburg crowd fell silent as the Greek players piled on top of one another, celebrating a goal that put them ahead of Germany.
The win lifts Greece to six points and alone atop Group B of League A. The Netherlands sit second with four points, while Germany and Serbia have one point apiece.
Shortly after the final whistle, Jovanović spoke to Greek broadcaster ALPHA about his team’s performance and the platform it has built for the matches ahead.
“I am very happy. This is a huge win for our football and our future, and for the competition as well,” he said. “Two away wins is the ideal start. We are in a very good position going into the next two games, which will also be very difficult, to raise our expectations even higher.”
Next up is a marquee showdown with the Netherlands at Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki on Oct. 1 at 9:45 p.m. At the same time, Germany will host Serbia at the Allianz Arena.
Germany’s defeat, which came in Jürgen Klopp’s landmark first home game as Germany’s national team coach, has drawn extensive coverage in the German media.
The online edition of Bild ran the headline: “Jürgen Klopp flops in his home debut – Soccer minnow puts the brakes on Jürgen Klopp.” The paper noted that the new national team coach had warned against underestimating the game’s “minnows,” a reference to Greece’s standing in the world rankings. It also pointed out that Greece boasts a “golden generation” of players.
