Greece stuns Germany: Kourbelis delivers the blow in Augsburg

Germany controlled almost everything, but Greece walked away with all three points. At the WWK Arena in Augsburg, Ivan Jovanovic's side weathered a near-constant German onslaught and in the 73rd minute found the blow that decided the game: Dimitrios Kourbelis, who had just come on from the bench, struck a left-footed shot from the center of the box to make it 0-1, the final score in the UEFA Nations League clash.

The result owes more to finishing than to how the match actually unfolded. Germany had the ball, had the chances and had the territory, but lacked a cutting edge. Bambasé Conté gave an early warning with a shot that drifted just wide, and from there the list of home chances kept growing: Kimmich tried his luck with a header and with a right-footed strike from outside the box, Adeyemi kept pushing without finding his target, Nmecha came close with a shot that was eventually blocked, and Ebnoutalib forced a good save from the Greek goalkeeper in the second half. None of it went in.

Greece, meanwhile, sat back and waited for its moment. Christos Tzolis and Thanasis Androutsos sparked occasional flashes down the flanks, and from a set piece Konstantinos Mavropanos tried a header in the first half that missed the target. The plan shifted with the second-half substitutions: on came Kourbelis and Fotis Ioannidis, and it was Kourbelis who settled the match just minutes after stepping onto the field, slotting a low shot inside the post to beat Germany's resistance.

Germany searched for a response with attacking changes, bringing on Wirtz, Burkardt and Gnabry for more variety up front, and did create more chances in the final stretch, but ran into shots that sailed wide time and again or a well-positioned Greek goal. Stoppage time, which stretched to four minutes, wasn't enough to turn things around either.

What the numbers say

The stats paint a picture of total dominance on one side and efficiency on the other. Germany racked up 75.5% possession and fired sixteen shots to Greece's eight, but only five of those shots were on target, compared with just one for the visitors.

The expected goals (xG) tally calculated from the match's shots backs up that reading as well: 1.391 for Germany versus 0.705 for Greece. These are figures calculated after the final whistle based on shot location, not a prediction, but they confirm what was clear on the field: Germany created more and better chances, and still walked away empty-handed.

What it means for the standings

The result carries real weight in Group A2. Greece now sits on 6 points with a perfect record through two matches, while Germany is stuck on just 1 point after a draw and now this loss, with a negative goal difference to boot. There are already 5 points separating the two sides. It's still a small sample, but the psychological blow for the home side is unmistakable: dominating like that and coming away with nothing raises more questions than answers for the rest of the group stage.