In Tallinn, the Greek national team made the perfect start to the UEFA Nations League, defeating hosts Estonia thanks to an early marker from Konstantinos Fortounis.
Placed in Group 2 of League C alongside Estonia, Finland and Hungary, the Greeks travelled to Tallinn for the opening game of the newly created UEFA Nations League, surprisingly giving AEK goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas an opportunity between the sticks while Andreas Bouchalakis and Dimitris Kourbelis competed as the defensive midfielders. The experienced Konstantinos Mitroglou was charged with leading the line as expected.
Making a strong start to proceedings, Petros Mantalos passed up a glorious opportunity when clean through, but moments later, Olympiacos playmaker Konstantinos Fortounis made no mistake. Receiving an excellent headed pass from Mitroglou, the 25-year old found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat, calmly slotting a pinpoint effort beyond Estonian goalkeeper Mikhel Aksalu after 14 minutes of play. Dominating the game, the Ethniki Omada should have doubled their money, however, Mitroglou deflected a whipped free-kick against the right post.
For the most part, Estonia rarely troubled Barkas in goal, registering a mere two shots on target in the entire 90 minutes of the match. Late on, Fortounis was thwarted by Aksalu when clear of the opposing defence, but it made little difference as Greece calmly held on to claim a vital 1:0 triumph against hosts Estonia in Tallinn.
On Tuesday, Greece will look to build on the victory with a positive result against Hungary in Budapest for the second match of the Nations League. The Hungarians fell 0:1 to Finland in their maiden game.
by Shaun Nicolaides
Image Source: sportfm.gr
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