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

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.