Konstantinos Karetsas made history by becoming Greece's youngest goalscorer against Scotland, quickly establishing himself as a rising star through stellar performances for Genk and Borussia Dortmund before overcoming a brief health scare.

Konstantinos Karetsas made history by becoming Greece's youngest goalscorer against Scotland, quickly establishing himself as a rising star through stellar performances for Genk and Borussia Dortmund before overcoming a brief health scare.

Konstantinos Karetsas made history by becoming Greece's youngest goalscorer against Scotland, quickly establishing himself as a rising star through stellar performances for Genk and Borussia Dortmund before overcoming a brief health scare.

In the 20th minute of a UEFA Nations League fixture against Scotland in March 2025, Greece’s Konstantinos Karetsas received the ball on the right flank, drove towards the Scottish goal and produced a perfectly weighted pass into the path of his overlapping right-back. The ball slowed down at the correct time to allow a first-time cut back for an attacker to slot in. The right-back got the assist, but it was Karetsas’s quality that really made the goal.

Though he can also operate on the right, Karetsas is an old-school No. 10 who has a knack for finding space between the lines.

Twenty-two minutes later, a pass found Karetsas in the box. Before defenders could do much more than panic, and with a hostile Glasgow crowd watching on, Karetsas caressed the ball into the far corner. It was his first goal for Greece and made him, at 17 years and 124 days, the youngest goalscorer in the country’s history. It would have been an impressive performance against any defender, but the fact that Karetsas was facing Andy Robertson—one of the best left-backs of the last decade—made it more special. “He’s a good player,” said Karetsas. “But when I go one-on-one, I don’t see who’s in front of me.”

Born to Greek parents in Belgium in November 2007, Karetsas joined his home town club Genk and went on to get noticed nationally. At 13, he was enticed to the capital by Belgian giants Anderlecht. In Brussels, he quickly established himself as one of the country’s best prospects, but chose to return to Genk in 2023 to speed up his entry into men’s football. On August 13, he debuted for Genk reserves in the second tier at 15 years and 267 days to become the youngest player in Belgian professional football history. On September 1, he became the youngest player to score in Belgian pro league history. He got promoted in February and debuted for the first team in May.

Manchester City were circling, but he chose to stay and became a first-team regular in the 2024-25 season, playing 39 games (three goals; four assists). The next season, the 17-year-old switched gears—ending with 18 assists and three goals in 49 games. Though he can also operate on the right, Karetsas is an old-school No. 10 who has a knack for finding space between the lines. At 5’7”, he has the low centre of gravity that helps him skip past a man. And, his magical left foot makes him dangerous from set-pieces.

Interestingly, he also made his international U21s debut against Scotland. Only, then he was playing for Belgium. He switched to Greece in 2025. “We had to fight tooth and nail with the Belgian FA... [it was] a big coup for Greek football,” Stephen Kountourou, a Greek journalist, told BBC Scotland. Karetsas himself explained that he feels really Greek. “My heart beats only for Greece,” he said.

That young heart was on the minds of football lovers around the world after the 18-year-old was carried off on September 8 with reported “circulatory issues”. He had gone down without any contact during his Champions League debut for his new club—Borussia Dortmund—and signalled his distress to the referee. The club has since stated that no abnormalities were found and Karetsas returned to action on September 19. Whether it was just dehydration, as reported by the Belgian media, or something more serious, Greece fans will be praying their new hope can have a long career.

TAGS