2-2 draw at “Toumba”: Greece throw away a two-goal lead, Reijnders punishes in the 89th minute

Greece and the Netherlands shared the points in a dramatic 2-2 draw on Thursday evening at the packed “Toumba” stadium in Thessaloniki, in the third match of Nations League Group A2, as Sportradar reports.

The “Greeks” ended the first half with a 2-0 lead: Fotis Ioannidis opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after an assist from Giorgos Masouras, while Masouras himself — who had come on in the 18th minute in place of the injured Christos Tzolis — doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time (45+2′), this time with an assist from Ioannidis.

Dutch coach Xavi reacted at half-time with three substitutions (Noa Lang, Ryan Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders), and captain Virgil van Dijk reduced the deficit to 2-1 with a header in the 59th minute after an assist from Joey Veerman, according to the match report.

The Netherlands increased the pressure late on and were rewarded in the 89th minute, when Reijnders scored the equaliser to make it 2-2; the final attempts by the “Tulips”, including that of Gjivai Zechiel in 90+3′, were stopped by goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis.

Despite the draw, Ivan Jovanovic’s Greece remain top of the group with 7 points (two wins and a draw), while the Netherlands move up to 5 points. The national team host Germany on Sunday (October 4), again at “Toumba”.