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Listen to the article3 min, read by a synthetic voice

In brief

  • Greece defeated Serbia 2-1 at the Rajko Mitic Stadium after Christos Tzolis equalised in the 74th minute and Anastasios Douvikas scored in the 95th minute.

  • Andrija Zivkovic gave Serbia a fourth-minute lead off a Dusan Tadic pass, but Greece responded with 26 total attempts and 62% first-half possession.

  • The three points move Greece to first place ahead of Germany and the Netherlands, who drew 1-1 in their opening match on 24 September 2026.

BelgradeAugsburg
Belgrade, Augsburg · Serbia, Germany
How it came to this
  1. 40th minuteVanja Milinkovic-Savic saves Christos Tzolis shot
  2. 74th minuteChristos Tzolis scores equaliser for Greece
  3. 95th minuteAnastasios Douvikas scores stoppage-time winner

Early Serbian breakthrough in Belgrade

Greece fell behind in the fourth minute at the Rajko Mitic Stadium when Dusan Tadic created space on the left wing. Tadic picked out Andrija Zivkovic inside the penalty area, allowing the winger to finish past left-back Kostas Tsimikas and goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis. The goal came after defensive hesitation involving Georgios Vagiannidis, Dimitrios Kourbelis, and Tsimikas. Serbia missed an opportunity to double their advantage in the 30th minute when Strahinja Pavlovic drove forward, but striker Luka Jovic shot over the crossbar from inside the six-yard box.

Greece controls first-half attacking flow

Manager Ivan Jovanovic deployed an attacking setup featuring Stefanos Kostoulas positioned behind striker Vangelis Pavlidis, flanked by wingers Konstantinos Karetsas and Christos Tzolis. Greece generated an immediate response in the sixth minute when Tzolis delivered a cutback from the right and Karetsas curled a right-footed strike against the left post. Karetsas forced another save from Serbian goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the 14th minute, before Kostoulas sent a 15th-minute effort over the target following a low cross from Vagiannidis. Tzolis came close to equalising in the 40th minute with a curling shot aimed at the top corner, which Milinkovic-Savic tipped wide for a corner. Greece completed the first half with 14 attempts to Serbia's five and held 62% possession.

Second-half pressure and late turnaround

The visiting side sustained their offensive momentum after the restart. Panagiotis Retsos missed from close range in the 49th minute after a Tsimikas free kick caused confusion in the Serbian penalty area. In the 61st minute, a sequence between Karetsas, Tzolis, Pavlidis, and Kostoulas ended with Milinkovic-Savic blocking Karetsas's effort. Jovanovic brought on Fotis Ioannidis for Kostoulas in the 63rd minute, followed by Anastasios Douvikas and Franklin Tetei in the 75th minute. Greece equalised in the 74th minute when Pavlidis played Tzolis into space for a diagonal finish. In the 95th minute, Douvikas scored to complete the 2-1 victory in the fifth minute of stoppage time, bringing Greece's match total to 26 shot attempts.

Standings and upcoming Nations League fixtures

The result gives Greece first place in League A Group 2 with three points after the opening round. In the group's simultaneous match, the Netherlands and Germany played to a 1-1 draw, earning one point each, while Veljko Paunovic's Serbian side sits in fourth place with zero points. Greece travels to Augsburg to face Germany on Sunday, 27 September at 21:45, while Serbia hosts the Netherlands in Belgrade at 19:00 on the same day. Group play continues in October, when Germany plays Serbia and Greece hosts the Netherlands on 1 October, followed by the reverse fixtures on 4 October.

Nations League A Group 2 points after matchday 1points
Greece3
Germany1
Netherlands1
Serbia0
Greece
3 points
Germany
1 points
Netherlands
1 points
Serbia
0 points

Data from the article text

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Sources and context

  • in.gron 24 Sep at 21:55Nations League: Η βαθμολογία στον όμιλο της Εθνικής - Το πρόγραμμα ως το φινάλε (pic)
  • Ειδήσεις - νέα - Το Βήμα Onlineon 24 Sep at 21:55Σερβία - Ελλάδα 1-2: "Γαλανόλευκη" ανατροπή με Τζόλη και Δουβίκα στο Βελιγράδι
  • in.gron 24 Sep at 21:54Σερβία - Ελλάδα 1-2: Εθνικάρα και μεγάλο διπλό στο 95΄με Δουβίκα!
  • NEWS 24/7on 24 Sep at 21:51Σερβία - Ελλάδα 1-2: Τέζαρε τη Σερβία με World Class Τζόλη και κεφαλιά "κανόνι" του Δουβίκα στο 95'
Anastasios Douvikas
Greek national team forward who scored the winning goal in the 95th minute
Christos Tzolis
Greek national team winger who scored the equalising goal in the 74th minute
Andrija Živković
Serbian national team winger who scored the opening goal in the fourth minute
Veljko Paunović
Head coach of the Serbian national football team
Dušan Tadić
Serbian national team midfielder who assisted Živković's opening goal
Vangelis Pavlidis
Greek national team forward who provided the assist for Tzolis's equaliser
Konstantinos Karetsas
Greek national team winger who struck the post in the sixth minute
Vanja Milinković-Savić
Serbian national team goalkeeper who made multiple first-half saves

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Published on 24 Sep at 22:05.

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Text generated by AI from the reports of the publishers listed and checked automatically, with no human editor. How Pollar is made

In this text

Early Serbian breakthrough in BelgradeEarly Serbian breakthrough in BelgradeGreece controls first-half attacking flowGreece controls first-half attacking flowSecond-half pressure and late turnaroundSecond-half pressure and late turnaroundStandings and upcoming Nations League fixturesStandings and upcoming Nations League fixtures

Based on reports by

in.gr, Ειδήσεις, NEWS 24/7, iefimerida.gr, NewsIT

List of sources

Football · Belgrade and Augsburg

Greece beats Serbia 2-1 with stoppage-time Douvikas winner in Nations League opener

Anastasios Douvikas scored a 95th-minute winner in Belgrade as Greece recovered from an early deficit to defeat Serbia 2-1 in their League A opener.

Belgrade
Augsburg

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AI text based on reports by in.gr, Ειδήσεις, NEWS 24/7 and other publishers. Published on 24 Sep at 22:05.

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