Bitter start to the Nations League: Serbia beaten 1–2 by Greece at “Rajko Mitić”

Veljko Paunović’s Serbia began the new Nations League edition with a defeat. The Serbian national team lost 1–2 to Greece on Thursday night, September 24, at the “Rajko Mitić” stadium in Belgrade, in the first-round match of the UEFA Nations League, League A, Group A2. It was Paunović’s official competitive debut as Serbia coach — and a complete disappointment in the closing minutes.

The match started in the best possible way for the hosts: in the fourth minute, Dušan Tadić, back in the squad, set up Andrija Živković perfectly to fire home. But Greece woke up and equalized in the 74th minute through Christos Tzolis, before Anastasios Douvikas turned everything around in the fourth minute of added time, handing the visitors the win in front of nearly empty stands.

Serbia played without their two main strikers, Dušan Vlahović and Aleksandar Mitrović, both injured. Chances were not lacking, though — Luka Jović missed a clear opportunity in the first half, Dejan Joveljić hit the post late on and the Greek goalkeeper spectacularly saved Saša Lukić’s shot — but the winning goal eluded the “Eagles.”

The match was played in front of a very poor crowd: only around 5,000 fans were present at “Rajko Mitić”. Interestingly, on Greece’s bench was Serbian Ivan Jovanović, who has worked in Greek football since 1989 and knows the mentality of Serbia’s players well.

Serbia’s schedule in the group continues quickly: on September 27 they host the Netherlands in Belgrade at “Rajko Mitić”, on October 1 they face Germany in Munich, and on October 4 they play the Netherlands again, this time in Eindhoven. The top two teams in the group qualify for the Nations League quarterfinals.

Source: Danas