Greece defeated Serbia 2-1 in Belgrade in a match from Group 2 of League A of the Nations League. Serbian coach Veljko Paunovic admitted that the hosts left too much space in the final minutes.
“In the end, we played too openly and carelessly. Their goal scorer turned out to be faster than our defense“, said Paunovic. According to him, this happened after strong pressure from Serbia in the last 10-15 minutes, when the hosts believed that they could reach another goal.
“It is painful, but it is also a lesson for us“, added the Serbian coach. He pointed to the team's cohesion, combativeness and moments when the team had effective possession as positive aspects.
Jovanovic: We found a good rhythm
Greece coach Ivan Jovanovic described the match as very difficult. He said that his team managed to change the course of the match after Serbia's early goal.
“After we conceded an early goal, we found a good rhythm. We played with energy and created chances“, said Jovanovic. He described the victory in Belgrade as particularly important, as it came at the beginning of Greece's first season in League A.
The Greek team's next match is against Germany, which Jovanovic described as one of the toughest tests in the group. According to him, the victory over Serbia should give the players more confidence in preparing for this match.
Forward Christos Tsolis said that he helped Greece with his goal, but the most important thing is the performance and the three points won in a difficult away stadium. He pointed to the Netherlands and Germany as among the strongest teams in Europe and warned that in each of the following matches, mistakes could prove decisive.
Serbia captain Dusan Tadic also described the match as very difficult. He said that after the equalizer, Greece took the initiative and created difficulties for the hosts. “We could have reacted better at the end, but now we have to learn from this match”, said Tadic.
Sources: BTA