Reijnders' late goal saves the Oranje from first defeat under Xavi
The Dutch national team barely avoided their first defeat under head coach Xavi Hernández in Thessaloniki. The Nations League match ended 2-2, after the Netherlands, after the break, thanks to a header from Virgil van Dijk and a late strike from Tijjani Reijnders, erased a 2-0 deficit.
First half: Greek lead
Greece started strongly, backed by a refreshed and talented squad that had previously beaten Serbia (1-2) and Germany (0-1). Vangelis Pavlidis, former AZ player, got behind the Dutch defence early, but the ball remained without a goal.
Joey Veerman could not dominate, while Quinten Timber and Guus Til failed to find their influence. Jurriën Timber, who replaced the injured Jan Paul van Hecke, missed the coordination, allowing the Greeks to break through the lines dangerously.
In the 13th minute it seemed Christos Tzolis (Arsenal) was opening the scoring, but the goal was disallowed for offside by Pavlidis. Shortly after, Tzolis left the field with a suspected hamstring injury and was replaced by Giorgos Masouras.
Masouras won a header duel against Denzel Dumfries, Jurriën Timber slipped and Fotis Ioannidis ran through. Van Dijk failed to intervene, after which Ioannidis struck the ball past Verbruggen into the far corner – the first goal for Greece.
This was already the eleventh consecutive match in which the Netherlands conceded an equaliser; the previous run stretched from 1956 to 1958 over sixteen matches. Despite the Netherlands' possession, the Greek passion remained more dangerous, with chances for Crysencio Summerville and Konstantinos Karetsas.
Second half: The Netherlands fight back
The second half began with a major blunder from Ruben van Bommel, who replaced the injured Cody Gakpo; his pass to Ioannidis led to the home side's second goal, making the score 0-2.
At halftime, head coach Xavi Hernández made changes: Noa Lang, Ryan Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders came in for van Bommel, Guus Til and Quinten Timber. The altered team put pressure on the Greeks.
In the 59th minute Van Dijk headed a corner from Veerman and scored his 99th international, his 14th goal, equalling Ronald Koeman as the defender with the most goals for the Netherlands.
Denzel Dumfries soon found the ball in the penalty area and shot, but the strike was ruled out for offside. A second attempt by Van Dijk from a corner was also disallowed, because a Greek player was between the ball and the goal line.
With debutant Gjivai Zechiël for Jurriën Timber and Joshua Zirkzee, who returned after two years, the Netherlands sought the deserved equaliser. In the 89th minute Lang passed the ball to Reijnders, who left the goalkeeper helpless and secured the 2-2 equaliser.
The League match remained tense until the final minute, and with the draw the Netherlands stayed unbeaten under Xavi Hernández.