Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos saved a penalty in Greece’s narrow 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands last night.
The 29-year-old, who is yet to play for Forest, saved Wout Weghorst’s first-half penalty as his nation looked to take a huge step towards EURO 2024 qualification.
Vlachodimos joined the club on deadline day from Portuguese champions Benfica for a fee in the region of £8 million – but has since been second choice behind Matt Turner.
However, after his form over the current international break, the Greek has boosted his chance of a debut upon his return to club football this weekend.
The Greek international ‘keeper has great pedigree – playing over 150 times for Benfica, with multiple of those coming in the Champions League.
Although his nation fell to a late defeat last night, Vlachodimos produced another excellent display.
He made five saves, with a rating of 8.3 on FotMob, – the highest of any Greek player who featured throughout the match.
The 29-year-old also made 14 passes, at a completion rate of 74% – with six of his 14 being a long pass to a teammate after playing out from the back.
Vlachodimos to start against Luton?
After his solid international performance once again last night, Vlachodimos will certainly be causing Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper a headache over his selection ahead of the Luton clash next Saturday.
Given his experience and pedigree, he won’t want to be joining the Reds purely to be sat on the substitutes bench – with his performance last night backing up the point that he’s too good to be a bench warmer.
He’s deserved his opportunity, with a start against Luton on Saturday his chance to impress after a great international stint.
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