Third defeat in a row for Greece at Euro qualifiers

The debut of Dutch coach John van 't Schip on the Greece bench marked one more defeat for the national team, the third in succession, as the 1-0 loss to Finland on Thursday at Tampere leaves Greece all but out of the Euro 2020 finals.

The new coach made several changes to the team that Angelos Anastasiadis had fielded last June against Italy and Armenia, but the net result was the same, as despite holding the ball for long spells the Greeks were unable to create the number and quality of chances needed to break the Finnish defense.

Robin Lod missed Finland's first chance after 27 minutes, as the Greek midfield enjoyed plenty of possession in a bid to contain the creativity and enthusiasm of the hosts.

Greece responded with a good volley by Efthymis Koulouris three minutes on, but both that and a Giorgos Masouras shot on the 38th missed the target.