Nations League: Netherlands earn draw with Germany, Ireland fall to Greece

The Netherlands and Germany |A| played out an entertaining |B| 2-2 draw in their |C| Nations League Group A3 |D| match in Amsterdam on |E| Tuesday.

Deniz Undav scored on |F| his first start for |G| Germany and the captain, |H| Joshua Kimmich, got the |J| second for a 2-1 |K| half‑time lead after Tijjani |L| Reijnders had put the |M| Dutch ahead 100 seconds |O| into the match. Denzel |P| Dumfries levelled early in |Q| the second half in |R| a game played at |S| a quick tempo and |U| with occasional flashes of |V| temper to make it |Y| a spicy derby.

Having beaten |Z| Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-2 |A| in their opening game, |B| the Netherlands got off |C| to a dream start |D| at the Johan Cruyff |E| Arena. Ryan Gravenberch’s perfect |F| through ball set Reijnders |G| away to tuck the |H| ball beyond the goalkeeper |J| Marc-André ter Stegen and |K| into the net. Dumfries |L| then headed wide from |M| Xavi Simons’s free‑kick, before |O| Simons missed a chance |P| of his own from |Q| another accurate Gravenberch pass.

Germany |R| had enjoyed plenty of |S| possession and levelled in |U| the 38th minute, with |V| Jamal Musiala intercepting an |Y| errant pass from Matthijs |Z| de Ligt and setting |A| up Undav to score his |B| first international goal. The |C| visitors then took the |D| lead in first-half stoppage |E| time, Robert Andrich’s long |F| diagonal ball hooked back |G| across goal by David |H| Raum for the unmarked |J| Kimmich to score at |K| the far post.

Nathan Aké |L| went off just before |M| half‑time with a suspected |O| hamstring injury, replaced by |P| Jurriën Timber, and Ronald |Q| Koeman replaced De Ligt |R| with Brighton’s Jan Paul |S| van Hecke at the |U| interval. Five minutes into |V| the second half, the |Y| striker Brian Brobbey held |Z| off defenders to square |A| for Dumfries to level |B| the game.

Julian Nagelsmann’s side |C| squandered three good opportunities |D| to retake the lead |E| as Kai Havertz missed |F| from close range, Undav |G| unsuccessfully tried to chip |H| Bart Verbruggen and Raum |J| headed wide at the |K| back post. Germany stay |L| top of their group |M| on goal difference, with Hungary |O| and Bosnia and Herzegovina playing |P| out a goalless draw |Q| in Budapest.

In Group B2, |R| the Republic of Ireland’s Nations |S| League misery continued as Greece |U| emerged from their Group |V| 2 trip to Dublin |Y| with a 2-0 win. |Z| Fotis Ioannidis and Christos |A| Tzolis were on target |B| in the second half |C| to leave the hosts |D| pointless after two matches |E| under the new head |F| coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson.

It might |G| have been different had |H| Chiedozie Ogbene not strayed |J| offside before producing a |K| superb first-half finish from |L| Jayson Molumby’s pass. After |M| a competitive first period, |O| Greece went ahead within |P| five minutes of the |Q| restart as Ioannidis curled |R| a left-footed shot past |S| Caoimhin Kelleher from the |U| edge of the penalty |V| area.

Jason Knight headed wide |Y| from an Ogbene cross |Z| as the Republic responded, |A| with Hallgrímsson also throwing |B| on striker Evan Ferguson |C| for Molumby just past |D| the hour mark. Will |E| Smallbone had a chance |F| to equalise 10 minutes |G| from time, only to |H| miscontrol Robbie Brady’s pull-back.

Adam |J| Idah and Callum Robinson |K| also came on late |L| in the game, with |M| the latter’s late attempt |O| deflected just wide. Tzolis |P| then struck at the |Q| death, side-stepping Nathan Collins |R| after being played in |S| behind the Irish defence |U| and firing emphatically past |V| Kelleher to make sure |Y| of Greece’s victory.

“I’m a |Z| really sore loser, to |A| be honest, I hate |B| losing,” said Hallgrímsson afterwards. |C| “I am not the |D| happiest man in Ireland |E| at the moment and |F| I probably share that |G| with a lot of |H| fans. My job is |J| to try to turn |K| this around … I |L| know it is going |M| to take time. I |O| think the first step |P| is positive even though |Q| we lost these two |R| games.”

In Group B1, two |S| first-half Pavel Sulc goals |U| and a late Tomas |V| Soucek penalty earned Czech Republic |Y| a 3-2 win against Ukraine. |Z| Sulc turned Vaclav Cerny’s |A| shot into the net |B| to open the scoring |C| but Vladyslav Vanat headed |D| home Mykola Shaparenko’s cross |E| to level. Sulc restored |F| the hosts’ lead just |G| before half-time with a |H| powerful volley.

Soucek extended it |J| in Prague with an |K| 80th-minute penalty and, while |L| Georgiy Sudakov pulled a |M| goal back for Ukraine, |O| the Czechs held on |P| for a welcome win |Q| after losing 4-1 against |R| Georgia in their group |S| opener. Georgia sit top |U| of the group after |V| they secured a 1-0 |Y| victory against Albania, Giorgi Kochorashvili |Z| scoring the winner in |A| Tirana.

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