Thessaloniki’s Toumba Stadium supplied Greece with another resilient night against Germany, as Ivan Jovanovic’s side held the Mannschaft to a 0-0 UEFA Nations League draw and preserved the momentum of their landmark win in Augsburg days earlier.
A closed contest in Thessaloniki
The second meeting of the international window brought little of the open football Germany had hoped would offer a route to redemption. Instead, Greece matched their visitors in the duels, protected their penalty area well and ensured that neither side could turn brief attacking moments into a decisive chance.
- Giorgos Masouras nearly gave Greece a rapid lead after two minutes, meeting a Kostas Tsimikas delivery with a header.
- Germany goalkeeper Jonas Urbig made the save to keep the hosts out.
- David Raum later found an opening for Germany, but Konstantinos Tzolakis responded effectively in the Greek goal.
Greece had arrived with confidence after their 1-0 victory over Germany on 27 September at Augsburg’s WWK Arena. Dimitris Kourbelis scored the only goal in that match, delivering Greece’s first-ever win against the Germans.
Burkardt’s moment overturned
Germany gradually attempted to take command and believed they had finally found the breakthrough when Jonathan Burkardt put the ball in the net. It appeared set to become his first senior international goal and the answer to Germany’s defeat in the first fixture.
Clément Turpin was sent to the pitchside monitor after a VAR intervention, however, and ruled that Tom Bischof had handled the ball earlier in the move. The goal was disallowed, leaving the visitors back at square one in a match where clear opportunities were already scarce.
Greece protect their ground
The pattern did not change after the interval. Both teams searched for room, but hurried final passes, physical challenges and disciplined defending repeatedly stopped moves before they could develop. Greece drew energy from the Toumba crowd without finding another way through, while Germany lacked the finishing needed to turn possession into a win.
By the closing stages, the draw had become the likely outcome. Greece remained firm at the back, and Germany could not secure the response they wanted after the Augsburg setback. The final whistle confirmed a second match without a German victory over Greece during this international period.
Group A2 remains open
The result concludes this set of Nations League fixtures with the contest in Group A2 still unresolved.
| Position | Team | Matches | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 4 | 8 |
| 2 | Greece | 4 | 8 |
| 3 | Germany | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | Serbia | 4 | 0 |
The Netherlands sit above Greece despite both teams having eight points. Germany are third on five, while Serbia remain bottom without a point. For the Mannschaft, the next challenge is to recover lost ground after failing to defeat Greece across the two meetings.
