On Sunday, Germany’s group opponents Greece also announced their squad for the Nations League. Amongst those named is Dortmund’s Konstantinos Karetsas.
In Group 2 of Nations League Division A, Greece are one of the German national team’s opponents, alongside the Netherlands and Serbia. The team led by new Germany manager Jürgen Klopp will face the Greeks twice during this international break: the first match takes place in Augsburg on 27 September, with the return fixture in Thessaloniki on 4 October.
On Sunday, national team manager Ivan Jovanovic, who has been in the role since 1 July 2024, announced his squad for the upcoming international break. Among those included is Dortmund’s summer signing Konstantinos Karetsas, who has already made ten appearances for his country (scoring three goals). He will be looking forward to the matches against his club teammates Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck and Waldemar Anton.
There had recently been concerns over Karetsas’s fitness; the Greek player had collapsed to the ground during Dortmund’s Champions League opener against Villarreal (3–2) and was subsequently carried off the pitch on a stretcher. There was subsequently talk of circulatory problems. The 18-year-old underwent a thorough medical examination, eventually returned to the squad on Saturday in Stuttgart (1–0) and was brought on as a substitute in the 62nd minute.
Several former Bundesliga players in the squad
However, Karetsas is not the only name familiar from the Bundesliga in the Greek squad. Alongside the two star players, Christos Tzolis (Fortuna Düsseldorf) and Enangelos Pavlidis (VfL Bochum), the current squad also includes goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, Konstantinos Mavropanos (both VfB Stuttgart), Panagiotis Retsos (Bayer Leverkusen), Manolis Saliakas (FC St. Pauli), Giorgos Masouras (Bochum) and Thanasis Androutsos (Osnabrück), as well as Konstantinos Koulierakis (VfL Wolfsburg), all have a history in German professional football.
As well as their matches against Germany, Greece will face Serbia on Thursday and the Netherlands on 1 October (both at 8.45 pm).
Greece’s squad at a glance
Goalkeepers: Odysseas Vlachodimos, Christos Mandas, Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Defenders: Konstantinos Mavropanos, Giannis Michailidis, Panagiotis Retsos, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Manolis Saliakas, Giorgos Vagiannidis, Giorgos Kyriakopoulos, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Thanasis Androutsos, Andreas Ntoi.
Midfield: Christos Zafeiris, Nektarios Triantis, Dimitris Kourbelis, Christos Mouzakitis, Konstantinos Karetsas.
Forwards: Christos Tzolis, Giorgos Masouras, Alexandros Kyziridis, Fotis Ioannidis, Vangelis Pavlidis, Tasos Douvikas, Andreas Tetteh, Charalampos Kostoulas.