Time for yet another breakthrough… a first!
The Greek national team aims to rise to the occasion once again at a major event, in a historic venue of European soccer, and emerge unscathed from Amsterdam! The “blue-and-whites” face the Netherlands tonight at 9:45 p.m. as part of Matchday 5 of the Nations League group stage.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Our national team has had an outstanding run in Group 1 of League A, as in its first four matches, it has recorded two wins and two draws and is tied for first place with the “Oranje.” Greece started with two wins, defeating Serbia and Germany, while subsequently, even though they could have secured three points, they drew 2-2 with the Netherlands at Toumba and were held to a 0-0 draw by the “Panzers” at Panthessaliko.
On the field, Ivan Jovanović will be without Manolis Saliakas and Christos Zafeiris, who are suspended, while Christos Mouzakitis is also out due to his participation with the U-21 national team.
The only question mark is Dimitris Kourbelis. The Greek midfielder was doubtful for tonight’s match, but he took part in the final training session as usual, and by all accounts he will be available for the match—in fact, he stands a good chance of starting.
Greece’s roster:
Goalkeepers: Odysseas Vlachodimos, Christos Mandas, Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Defenders: Konstantinos Mavropanos, Pantelis Hatzidiakos, Panagiotis Retsos, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Manolis Saliakas, Georgios Vagiannidis, Lazaros Rota, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Dimitris Giannoulis.
Midfielders: Christos Zafeiris, Nektarios Triantis, Dimitris Kourbelis, Athanasios Androutsos, Konstantinos Karetsas, Christos Tzolis, Georgios Masouras, Alexandros Kyziridis, Anastasios Bakasetas, Ilias Koutsoupias.
Forwards: Fotis Ioannidis, Vangelis Pavlidis, Anastasios Douvikas, Andreas Tetei, Charalambos Kostoulas.
Έτοιμοι για την αυριανή αναμέτρηση με την Ολλανδία!
— Ethniki Omada (@EthnikiOmada) November 12, 2026https://t.co/rau8ZMCCUT #lasttraining #ethnikiomada https://t.co/QNMfhadUq3
This match also has the feel of a final for the Netherlands. Xavi’s team managed to… escape the “blue-and-whites’” clutches at Toumba, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to secure a 2-2 draw in Matchday 3, but now, at the imposing “Johan Cruyff Arena,” they’ll try to take the top spot in the group.
The “Oranje” are tied with us for first place, having opened with a draw against Germany, and, aside from the draw at Toumba, they’ve secured two important wins—both at home and on the road—against Serbia.
On the field, Xavi has to deal with two very significant absences, as Virgil van Dijk and Brian Bromm, have been ruled out of tonight’s match and have joined the list alongside Ake, Frimpong, Raafensberg, and Hato.
Oranje
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) November 6, 2026– November 2026. https://t.co/FJWwKeiLUf
The most likely starting lineups:
Netherlands (Xavi): Verbruggen – Damfris, G. Timber, Van Eke, Van der Fen – Firman, K. Timber, Ryders – Summerville, Hakpo, Malen
Greece (Jovanović): Tzolakis – Vagiannidis, Mavropanos, Retsos, Tsimikas-Karetsas, Kourbelis, Androutsos, Tzolis – Pavlidis, Tetei
*photo source: AP
