The Aporia
The Aporia
Gatopoulos, D., & Kantouris, C. (2026, October 2). Draw with the Dutch keeps underdog Greece ahead of favorites in the Nations League. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/draw-with-the-dutch-keeps-underdog-greece-ahead-of-favorites-in-the-nations-league/article_65e3aa07-586a-5c24-bd9c-85087789be3e.html
Gatopoulos, Derek, and Costas Kantouris. “Draw with the Dutch keeps underdog Greece ahead of favorites in the Nations League.” Toronto Star, 2 Oct. 2026, https://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/draw-with-the-dutch-keeps-underdog-greece-ahead-of-favorites-in-the-nations-league/article_65e3aa07-586a-5c24-bd9c-85087789be3e.html.
Gatopoulos, Derek, and Costas Kantouris. “Draw with the Dutch keeps underdog Greece ahead of favorites in the Nations League.” Toronto Star, October 2, 2026. https://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/draw-with-the-dutch-keeps-underdog-greece-ahead-of-favorites-in-the-nations-league/article_65e3aa07-586a-5c24-bd9c-85087789be3e.html.
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In a surprising turn of events in the Nations League, Greece drew against the highly ranked Netherlands 2-2 on Thursday, maintaining their position as group leaders despite being an underdog compared to favorites like Germany and the Netherlands. Greece's journeyman coach Ivan Jovanovic led his team to victories over Serbia and Germany previously. In this match at Thessaloniki’s Toumba Stadium, Fotis Ioannidis scored in the 23rd minute with a counterattack finish, followed by another goal from Giorgos Masouras right before halftime. However, Virgil van Dijk equalized for the Netherlands in the 59th minute, and Tijjani Reijnders added another goal late in the game, nearly securing a win but Greece managed to hold on for a draw. Van Dijk acknowledged his team's poor first-half performance as "unacceptable." This result highlights Greece’s unexpected rise in European football.
