Greece vs Netherlands: Three Wins in Three and a Dutch Injury Crisis
Summary: This guide to the UEFA Nations League meeting in Thessaloniki explains why Greece's early form matters, how the Netherlands' injury list reshapes the matchup, and where to watch the game.
Greece have already given this Nations League campaign a jolt. They followed a comeback win over Serbia with a 1-0 win against Jurgen Klopp's Germany, and now they have a chance to make it three wins from three when they host the Netherlands at Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki on Thursday.
According to CNET's match preview, Greece are looking to make it a perfect start to their opening three fixtures in the competition. That result against Germany changed the mood around the team. Instead of treating the Netherlands as a step up in class, this now looks like a fixture Greece can approach with genuine belief.
The Netherlands, for their part, arrive with a squad that has been stripped of several key players. Defender Jan Paul van Hecke is the latest withdrawal, joining Donyell Malen, Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo on the injury list. CNET reports that the Dutch are set to be without a number of key stars. That means the visitors are likely to field a reshuffled lineup, with less attacking depth and less experience at the back than they would have wanted for a competitive group game.
The schedule is a late-evening one in Greece. Kickoff is set for 9:45 p.m. EEST, which is 7:45 p.m. BST in the UK, 2:45 p.m. ET and 11:45 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 4:45 a.m. AEST on Friday in Australia. Broadcast coverage splits by market. In the US, the match is on Fox Soccer Plus. Canadian viewers need DAZN Canada. In Australia, BeIN Sports is the new home for Nations League matches. In the UK, Prime Video has the game as part of a pay-per-view selection of Nations League fixtures this week.
There is still pre-match uncertainty over the exact starting lineups. Team news, at this stage, is dominated by who is missing from the Dutch squad. Greece will want to show that the win over Germany was not a one-off. The Netherlands need to prove their depth can handle a confident opponent. With Greece in form and the Dutch reshuffling, this Nations League fixture offers an early answer about both teams’ resilience.