The stage has been set for a high-stakes clash in Glasgow after Greece squandered their home leg advantage by losing in a narrow battle with Scotland, putting their promotion hopes to League A in doubt.
The “Ethniki” was handed a 0-1 defeat at the hands of the Scots at “Georgios Karaiskakis” Stadium on Friday morning (AEDT), giving the travellers a pivotal advantage heading into the second leg of the UEFA Nations League play-offs in Glasgow.
The visitors found their breakthrough in the 33rd minute after midfielder Scott McTominay slotted his penalty kick into the bottom right corner.
The Greeks came out stronger in the second half with the interjection of 17-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas (who became the youngest player to wear the Greece jersey in an official match) coinciding with more chances and threats of bagging an equaliser.
They came closest to levelling the game in the 68th minute after Karetsas delivered a beautiful ball towards Christos Tzolis near the six-yard box, with the winger’s effort smashing into the left post. The “blue-whites” thought they had earned a golden chance to equalise after being awarded a penalty in the 84th minute, though VAR intervened and ruled the contact of the foul took place just outside the box.
Greece made no impact from the resulting free kick and did not really cause too much strife for the Scots in the dying minutes either as they escaped from Athens with a hard-fought victory.
The result sets up a massive do-or-die clash in Glasgow on Monday morning that will prove a major challenge for Greece as they pursue a League A berth.
The contest will also provide them a great chance to experience the ferocity of the Scottish crowd ahead of the World Cup qualifiers later in the year, with Scotland among the teams they will face in the group stage.
