Greece stunned hosts Germany with a 1-0 victory in their Nations League Group A2 clash on Sunday, with Dimitris Kourbelis scoring the decisive goal in the 74th minute.
The result gave Greece their first-ever win in 11 meetings against Germany and moved them to the top of Group A2 with six points from two matches. Germany remains on one point.
Kourbelis Seals Historic Greek Victory
Germany dominated possession for much of the opening half, enjoying almost 80% of the ball, but they struggled to turn their control into goals.
Greece remained organised and looked for opportunities on the counterattack. Germany’s defensive mistakes eventually gave the visitors the opening they needed.
Kourbelis struck in the 74th minute with a low shot that took a deflection before finding the net, leaving Germany unable to recover.
The victory followed Greece’s 2-1 win over Serbia on Thursday, giving them two wins from two matches.
Germany Struggle to Find the Net
Germany increased their tempo after the break and began pressing higher up the pitch.
Felix Nmecha fired wide in the 54th minute, while Greece goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis produced an important save shortly before that, tipping Joshua Kimmich’s free kick over the crossbar.
Greece also came close when Germany lost possession in their own half. Substitute Fotis Ioannidis narrowly missed the target in the 66th minute.
However, Germany’s attacking efforts were not enough to prevent their first defeat of the campaign.
Klopp Calls Defeat Part of the Process
The loss marked a difficult home debut for coach Juergen Klopp, who took charge in July following Germany’s early World Cup exit.
Klopp has now failed to win either of his first two matches, following a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Thursday.
The German coach acknowledged that his squad needs time to develop after only a week together.
Germany will next face Serbia on Thursday before travelling to Greece three days later.
In the other Group A2 match, the Netherlands defeated Serbia 2-1, with Mexx Meerdink scoring twice on his second international appearance.
The result gave new coach Xavi Hernandez his first victory after the Netherlands drew with Germany on Thursday.
Meerdink said scoring twice was a special moment and praised the team for securing the win away from home.
Portugal Maintain Perfect Start
Defending champions Portugal also recorded their second consecutive victory, beating Norway 2-1 in Group A4.
Joao Felix opened the scoring in the 17th minute, continuing his impressive start to the Nations League campaign.
Norway equalised through Erling Haaland before Goncalo Ramos scored the winning goal with a clever chip.
Cristiano Ronaldo remained on the bench throughout the match as Portugal moved to the top of Group A4 with six points.
Denmark secured their first points of the campaign with a 2-0 victory over Wales.
Ben Davies scored an own goal in the 53rd minute before Gustav Isaksen doubled Denmark’s advantage shortly after the hour mark.
In Group B3, Ireland secured a 3-0 victory over Israel in a politically charged encounter.
Ireland scored twice within three minutes early in the first half before adding another goal to complete a comfortable win.