High-flying Greece gear up to welcome Germany to Thessaloniki tonight for their second duel in the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League season. Their clash in Augsburg last weekend ended in a stunning 1-0 win for the Hellic nation, as Dimitrios Kourbelis' late strike earned them their first-ever victory against Die Mannschaft.
With a Nations League double now on the agenda for Ivan Jovanovic's side, Greece will be looking to consolidate their position atop Group B and take another step closer to a historic semi-final appearance. But the question on the Borussia Dortmund supporters' conscience is, would Konstantinos Karetsas be playing?
Karetsas asked to be rested by Kovac
In a bid to help his players manage their workload, BVB boss Niko Kovac had reportedly called up the national team manager of every side that features a Dortmund player. Among those in focus was Konstantinos Karetsas.
The Greek attacker, who joined Dortmund this summer, has swiftly become a key component of their offensive setup. But he also suffered a health scare last month when the 18-year-old fell to the pitch with a circulatory issue that forced him out for one game.
Kovac is obviously cautious about losing him to a full-blown injury, especially with his compatriot and fellow summer signing Giannis Konstantelias ruled out for a long time with a torn ACL injury.
According to Ruhr Nachrichten, Karetsas is now set to be rested for their clash against the DFB tonight as part of his workload management. However, it's not ruled out that he won't play at all. Karestas might still be brought off the bench here if Greece need him, but he's sure not to start in their XI tonight.
A productive international window for Karetsas
Karetsas had his first international outing with Greece as a Dortmund player and he made a statement with his encouraging attacking qualities that offered them a new outlet in the final third.
He played 74 minutes of their Serbia win, completed full 90 minutes of their historic Germany conquest, and then saw another 83 minutes of action against the Netherlands. Across these three matches, the Dortmund teen laid 15 crosses, mustered five shots and created five chances too.
Although a few other players stole the limelight of what's been a truly remarkable campaign for Greece, Karetsas gained valuable international experience here, demonstrating his seamless potential to develop into one of the cornernstones of their offensive vanguard in future.
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