Greece outfought, outthought and outplayed their Scottish hosts at Hamden Park in Glasgow Sunday night, yet, the spotlight was on Greece’s youngest football star: Konstantinos Karetsas, the Greek wonderkid, who at 17, etched his name in history by becoming the country’s youngest goalscorer while taking football by storm.
Born on November 19, 2007, to Greek parents (his father is from Serres and his mother from Athens) in Gent, Belgium, Karetsas has become a sensation with his superb technique, exceptional ball control under pressure, passing accuracy and ability to take opponents with confidence.
The 1.71cm tall (5’7”) rising star was given his debut by manager Ivan Jovanovich for Greece off the bench in a 1-0 first-leg loss with Scotland on March 20. But even then, as he was warmly welcomed by Greek fans into the fold, his performance was so impressive, BBC Scotland’s co-commentator James McFadden said: “I thought he looked really classy, really composed, willing to take people on and, when he came on, he was their main outlet. They were desperate to get the ball to him so I think he comes straight into the team,” he added.
Pat Nevin, working at the game for BBC Radio Scotland and Five Live, was similarly impressed.
“I thought he made a huge difference, probably the main reason the game changed massively in the second half,” the former Scotland winger said. “Chatting to Steve Clarke afterwards, he agreed the young lad is pretty special and somebody that needs to be kept a really close eye on.”
During Sunday’s match, the second tier of the Nations League, he scored a crucial goal just before halftime, doubling Greece’s lead and sending the crowds -and Greece- into raptures.
Greece's youngest-ever goalscorer 🇬🇷
Konstantinos Karetsas. Remember the name 🌟#NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/XslNgzFnLz
— UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) March 23, 2025
The international journey of Konstantinos Karetsas, Greece’s young, new sensation
Greece’s wonderkid, as he is dubbed by many, in his short life has already had a fascinating, international journey in football.
He has lived and played all his life in Gent, Belgium, where he joined their academy and quickly accelerated through the ranks to make his first team debut at the end of last season, as a 16-year-old substitute against Cercle Brugge. He started for the first time in a win over Royal Antwerp two weeks later.
In 2023, he became the youngest goalscorer in Belgian professional football history at 15.
This season, he has been a first-team regular, starting 14 and coming on in another 11 games, mainly as an attacking midfielder and helping Genk to the top of the Jupiler Pro League. Belgian fans started calling him “Kos,” because his full name was difficult for them to pronounce.
Karetsas represented Belgium at youth level, playing for their under-21s as recently as November. His talent earned him a spot in The Guardian’s annual list of the world’s top 60 young players, alongside Olympiacos’ Babis Kostoulas.
Although Karetsas had already played for Belgium’s youth national teams, Greece’s football federation had been working for years to convince him to switch allegiance.
According to Greek journalist Stephen Kountourou, speaking on BBC’s Scotland’s Daily Football Podcast, “We had to fight tooth and nail with the Belgian FA to stop him representing them and that was seen as a big coup for Greek football because Karetsas is rated not just as a potentially decent talented player but as one of the big players for the future in international football.”
For Karetsas, whose idols include Neymar and Ronaldinho, there seemed to be little doubt as to whom he’d want to represent on a senior level.
“My heart beats only for Greece, my homeland fulfills me completely,” he was quoted as saying.
On February 25, he made the announcement on his Facebook page saying “After a lot of thinking, I decided to represent Greece. This choice comes from my heart and has nothing to do with future decisions. I am grateful that I made this decision and now, I can concentrate on writing a beautiful history with Greece.”
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
