NewzGreece came within minutes of a famous victory over the Netherlands at a packed Toumba Stadium, but the Oranje fought back late to secure a 2-2 draw. The National Team produced a superb first-half performance, racing into a 2-0 lead through Fotis Ioannidis and Giorgos Masouras. Ioannidis and Masouras were at the heart of everything Greece produced in attack, with each player scoring once and assisting the other.
Greece opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Masouras won the ball in the air and picked out Ioannidis behind the Dutch defence. The striker moved into the area before calmly placing his finish beyond the goalkeeper.
The hosts continued to threaten and doubled their advantage just before half-time. Ioannidis won possession and drove into the area before turning provider for Masouras, who finished from close range in the 45+2nd minute. Toumba was rocking as Greece headed into the break with a 2-0 lead.
The Netherlands came out strongly after half-time and began putting Greece under sustained pressure. The visitors pulled one back in the 59th minute when a cross from the right found Virgil van Dijk, who headed past Konstantinos Tzolakis to make it 2-1. The Netherlands thought they had equalised in the 67th minute, but VAR intervened.
Dumfries found the net after a scramble in the area, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. Another Dutch goal was cancelled out in the 74th minute after Van Dijk’s header eventually led to Dumfries finishing from close range. Greece looked set to hold on for all three points, but the Netherlands finally found the equaliser in the 89th minute.
The late goal denied Greece a memorable victory, but the National Team remained unbeaten and retained first place in the group. Greece will now turn its attention to another major test at Toumba. The National Team will host Germany on Sunday, October 4, with kick-off scheduled for 21:45.
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