Greece manager Ivan Jovanovic has urged his players to produce a “perfect game” if they are to overturn a one-goal deficit against Scotland at Hampden Park on Sunday and secure a place in the UEFA Nations League’s top tier.
Scott McTominay’s 33rd-minute penalty proved decisive in the first leg of the play-off in Greece earlier this week, handing Steve Clarke’s side a slender advantage going into the return fixture in Glasgow. With a spot in League A on the line, Jovanovic is calling for his team to rise to the occasion.
The Serbian coach masterminded a historic 2-1 victory over England at Wembley in October, a performance he hopes his players can replicate in Scotland’s national stadium.
“In England, we played the perfect game, with and without the ball. That is why we won the game,” Jovanovic said.
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“We met the demands and got the result. Overall, at Hampden, we need to play better than we did on Thursday. And we also need to do that for a longer period than we did at home.
“If we do all of that, we have a chance to win this tie.”
Greece showed flashes of their quality in the first leg, especially when 17-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas was introduced at the interval, but struggled to break down Scotland’s disciplined defence.
Now, they must find a way past a home side that has turned Hampden into a fortress in recent years.
