Greece stun Germany as Ireland show solidarity with Gaza, refuse handshake with Israeli players

Substitute Dimitrios Kourbelis gave Greece a shock 1-0 Nations League win away to Germany on Sunday as Ireland’s players wore black armbands for their match against Israel.

Portugal coach Jorge Jesus dropped Cristiano Ronaldo and was rewarded as his replacement Goncalo Ramos scored the winner in a 2-1 success away to Norway.

Jurgen Klopp was made to wait for his maiden victory in charge of an ineffective Germany as Kourbelis’s deflected second-half strike settled the game in Augsburg.

The former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund boss had made five changes to his team which drew 1-1 with the Netherlands on Thursday as he sought to give more of his players a chance to impress him.

Although midfielder Bambase Conte had an impressive debut and Germany dominated possession, they rarely threatened Konstantinos Tzolakis’s goal.

“Personally, I’m completely unbothered by it. I’ve lost far more matches in my life than I would have liked,” Klopp told ARD.

“We absolutely need these kinds of matches -- they are exactly the games we wanted to have.”

Ireland’s players came out wearing black armbands for their match with Israel in Hungary which almost did not take place due to heavy pressure back in Ireland on the team to boycott the game over the war in Gaza.

Only a player vote in midweek allowed the game to go ahead.

Ireland has long been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and the players bowed their heads as the Israeli anthem was played before the match.

The teams skipped the traditional pre-match handshakes and did not exchange pennants either in a near-empty stadium in Debrecen.

Troy Parrott made a heart sign with his hands after opening the scoring on 14 minutes, while Jack Moylan kissed the Irish badge on his jersey and his black armband after netting the third goal 25 minutes in.

Ireland won the game 3-0 but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused them of being “on the wrong side of history” over the players’ actions.

Ramos shines: In Oslo, Joao Felix gave Portugal a 17th-minute lead as an unusually profligate Erling Haaland squandered a succession of chances.

He did eventually equalise for the hosts six minutes into the second half, but almost immediately, goalkeeper Orjan Nyland gifted Ramos a simple finish for the winner.

“The most important thing is to show what I can do whenever I’m called upon and to contribute to the team,” Ramos told Sport TV, without being drawn on his selection ahead of Ronaldo.

“It was a demonstration of my work, of what I can offer the team -- not just goals, but everything I do on the pitch.”

The 41-year-old Ronaldo was named among the substitutes for the first time for Portugal since a Nations League game against Scotland in September 2024, and did not get onto the pitch.

Meerdink brace gives Xavi win: The Netherlands gave Xavi Hernandez his first win as head coach as Mexx Meerdink’s brace earned a 2-1 success over Serbia in Belgrade.

The Oranje turned to Barcelona great Xavi after a disappointing World Cup last-32 exit at the hands of Morocco.

But Xavi’s men forged ahead on the half-hour mark as AZ Alkmaar striker Meerdink drilled in a penalty to score his first international goal after Aleksa Terzic fouled Crysencio Summerville.

Half-time substitute Luka Jovic turned in the equaliser following a goalmouth scramble less than a minute after the restart.

But the visitors reclaimed the lead in the 69th minute as Meerdink, who made his Netherlands debut against Germany, fired a left-footed shot into the bottom corner after being played in by substitute Guus Til.

Denmark bounced back from Thursday’s dramatic loss to Norway by seeing off Wales 2-0 in Copenhagen in Group A4.

The Scandinavians, who missed out on the World Cup with a penalty shoot-out defeat by the Czech Republic in the play-offs, have now won their last four meetings with Wales.

In League B, Austria made it two wins from two as David Affengruber, Junior Adamu and Carney Chukwuemeka scored in a 3-1 win over Kosovo in Vienna.

Agencies