Netherlands Rescue Draw After Late Fightback Against Greece in Nations League

The Netherlands came from two goals behind to draw 2-2 with Greece in the UEFA Nations League, with Tijjani Reijnders scoring late to rescue a point.

Greece had started the campaign well, beating Serbia and Germany before meeting a Netherlands side missing several players through injury in Thessaloniki. The visitors looked uneasy early on and were fortunate when Christos Tzolis had a well-taken goal ruled out for offside within the first 15 minutes.

Tzolis was causing problems for the Dutch defence, but his night ended early after he appeared to pick up a hamstring injury. The forward was taken off, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta likely concerned about the injury.

Greece continued to push forward after his departure and took the lead in the 23rd minute. Ioannidis picked up Masouras’ headed pass, moved towards the box and found the corner with a well-placed finish beyond Verbruggen.

The Netherlands struggled to break down the Greek defence and were punished again just before half-time. Ioannidis provided a perfect assist this time, setting up Masouras, who slid the ball into the net to give Greece a 2-0 lead.

The Netherlands changed the game after the interval and finally got on the scoresheet in the 59th minute. Veerman sent a corner into the box, where Van Dijk rose quickly and headed the ball past the goalkeeper.

The visitors thought they had equalized soon after when Dumfries won possession inside the box and finished the move. However, VAR ruled that he was offside in the build-up, so the goal did not count.

The home side then tried to defend their lead to secure a memorable victory, but the Netherlands kept pushing until the end. Their pressure finally paid off when Reijnders connected with Lang’s ball inside the box and fired a volley into the net to make it 2-2.

Both teams then tried hard to get a lead in the closing minutes, however, strong defending denied any further goalscoring opportunity. As a result, the match ended in a stalemate, forcing both Netherlands and Greece to share points on the table.