The Dutch national team and its new Spanish coach, Xavi Hernandez, survived a loss against its Greek host, after coming back from a two-goal deficit and snatching a valuable 2-2 draw, on Thursday, in the third round of the European Nations League.
Greece maintained its lead in Group Two of the first level with 7 points, while Germany ranks third with 4 points.
Greece seemed on its way to achieving its third victory in a row after establishing its advantage in the first half. Christos Tsoulis scored an early goal in the 13th minute, but it was ruled out for offside, before the player suffered an injury and left the field five minutes later, with Giorgos Masouras taking his place.
Masouras quickly left his mark, after creating the first goal with a header pass to Fotis Ioannidis, who opened the scoring in the 23rd minute.
Before the end of the first half, Ioannidis returned the gift to Masouras and assisted him with the second goal, as Greece entered the break with a 2-0 lead.
But the Dutch team returned strongly in the second half, and its captain Virgil van Dijk reduced the difference with a header in the 59th minute, following a corner kick taken by Joey Firman.
While Greece was minutes away from claiming the three points, Tijani Reynders snatched the equalizer for the Netherlands in the 89th minute, saving his country and its coach Xavi Hernandez from the first loss in his third match at the helm of the coaching staff.
French club Paris Saint-Germain achieved a landslide victory over its guest, UD Heverle Leuven, 5-0, on Thursday, in the second round of the league stage in the Women’s Champions League.
The Parisian team raised its score to 4 points after achieving its first victory in the tournament this season, advancing to third place, while Leuven remained at one point in 14th place.
In another match, Manchester City of England tied with its guest, Real Madrid, of Spain, 1-1, bringing the two teams to two points, with City occupying eleventh place on goal difference, ahead of Real Madrid, which is in twelfth place.
The Italian Inter had survived its first loss in the competition, after snatching a fatal 1-1 draw against its host Austria Vienna.
Modesta Oka opened the scoring for the Austrian team in the 21st minute, before Ivana Andres saved Inter with an equalizing goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half.
Inter raised its score to 4 points in sixth place, while Austria Vienna earned its first point in the tournament to occupy fifteenth place.
In another match, the Danish team achieved a major victory over its guest, Servette, Switzerland, 5-1, to obtain its first 3 points in the tournament and temporarily occupy eighth place, while Servette remained without points in the eighteenth and last place after its second loss in a row.
The German national team achieved its first victory under the leadership of its new coach, Jurgen Klopp, by defeating its Serbian guest 2-0, on Thursday, in the third round of Group Two competitions in the first level of the European Nations League.
Klopp had taken over as coach of Germany, succeeding Julian Nagelsmann, who left after the team was eliminated from the round of 16 in the 2026 World Cup by Paraguay on penalties.
Germany began its campaign with Klopp with a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, before losing at home to Greece 0-1, succeeding against Serbia in achieving its first victory and raising its score to 4 points in third place. On the other hand, the Serbian team remained without points after suffering its third loss in a row.
The German team imposed its advantage from the beginning at the Allianz Arena, and Alexander Pavlovic was close to opening the scoring in the eighth minute with a shot from outside the penalty area that passed near the post.
After a series of attempts, Tom Bischoff succeeded in giving the hosts the lead in the 39th minute, after Florian Wirtz's shot bounced off the post and reached Bischoff, who followed it directly into the net.
Germany continued its pressure in the second half, and Nick Voltemade wasted an opportunity in the 58th minute, after receiving a pass from Wirtz, but he shot over the crossbar even though the goal was empty.
Three minutes later, Wirtz made up for the opportunity and added the second goal, after receiving a pass from Maximilian Mittelstadt, and passed the Serbian defender before putting the ball into the net.
The match saw Klopp rely on Jonas Orbig, Bayern Munich's reserve goalkeeper, as a starter, while Voltimade, the Juventus striker on loan from Newcastle, led the attack.
Germany will meet Greece in Athens, next Sunday, in the fourth round, while Serbia will host the Netherlands on the same day.
