Vangelis Pavlidis scored twice to present Greece an emotional win at Wembley tonight as Lee Carsley suffered his first defeat as interim England boss.
Jude Bellingham seemed to have handed England a scarcely deserved level by cancelling out Pavlidis’ opener with 4 minutes to go however the guests secured a win that acted as a becoming tribute to George Baldock when Pavlidis scored once more deep into stoppage time.
Former Sheffield United full-back Baldock, who received 12 caps for Greece after making his debut two years in the past, was discovered lifeless in his swimming pool in Athens yesterday.
Greece requested the sport be postponed however, having been advised by UEFA it should go forward, their gamers stated they might “attempt to attain the energy of his [Baldock’s] soul” by placing on a present towards the Three Lions. They usually did precisely that with a efficiency filled with ardour and dedication.
They had been undoubtedly aided by a show that may solely be described as shambolic from England. Carsley’s experimental formation, which noticed Bellingham function initially as a false 9 forward of a plethora of attacking midfielders, did not gel whereas the Three Lions had been disorganised on the again and missing defensive nous in midfield.
🇬🇷🇬🇷 GREECE HAVE DONE IT! 🇬🇷🇬🇷
… And you may’t say they don’t deserve it! #ITVFootball | #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/pGgwrpmocQ
— ITV Soccer (@itvfootball) October 10, 2024
The early indicators had been promising, nonetheless, with Bellingham’s highly effective 20-yard shot drawing a nice save from Odisseas Vlachodimos within the Greece aim after two minutes.
5 minutes later, Cole Palmer curled a free-kick inches over the bar.
However England then started to lose their approach, with an absence of canopy inflicting panic in defensive areas. Jordan Pickford needed to come out of his space to take care of a by way of ball however then dallied far too lengthy, enabling Anastasios Bakasetas to pinch it and fireplace in direction of the empty web. It will have resulted in a aim had it not been for an unbelievable clearance from the back-pedalling Levi Colwill.
Pickford had one other nervous second from the ensuing nook as he was crushed to the ball by Konstantinos Mavropanos, whose header was dominated out for offside.
Greece had been exhibiting loads of enterprise and Bakasetas got here shut once more after 20 minutes with a shot that hit the heel of stand-in captain John Stones earlier than going vast.
England had been enjoying on the counter but it surely virtually resulted in a aim for the Premier League’s in-form participant halfway by way of the primary half. Bellingham made a run in behind and, having minimize inside his marker, laid the ball on a plate for Palmer eight yards out however the Chelsea man blazed his shot wastefully over the bar.
Anthony Gordon then headed over when he must have hit the goal after being picked out by a trademark Trent Alexander-Arnold move.
England had ridden their luck within the first half however it will definitely ran out inside 4 minutes of the restart.
Konstantinos Koulierakis began the transfer with a barnstorming run ahead and when the ball fell for Pavlidis inside the world, he calmly stepped contained in the weak challenges of Alexander-Arnold and Stones and fired previous the helpless Pickford.
The Greece gamers celebrated by holding up a shirt with Baldock’s title written on the again.
🇬🇷 GREECE HAVE THEIR FIRST-EVER GOAL AT WEMBLEY! 🇬🇷
Vangelis Pavlidis factors to his arm to pay tribute to George Baldock ❤️#ITVFootball | #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/dRiGKY1h0U
— ITV Soccer (@itvfootball) October 10, 2024
It was Greece’s first ever aim at Wembley and so they might have had a second 4 minutes later however Koulierakis opted to move again throughout the six-yard field relatively than going for aim and Bellingham was in a position to smuggle it behind for a nook.
Giorgios Masouras had a aim dominated out for a transparent offside after 59 minutes with Greece’s superiority lastly prompting Carsley to make a change, bringing on Ollie Watkins for the ineffective Gordon.
Inside a minute, the Aston Villa striker virtually discovered an equaliser however blazed his shot inches over the bar.
The change to play with a recognised striker, after which a second as Dominic Solanke additionally got here on, did little to solidify England’s midfield, nonetheless, with Greece repeatedly catching the hosts on the break however then taking the incorrect possibility after they had a numerical benefit.
Once they did get it proper, they had been denied by the offside flag for a 3rd time, Pavlidis having one other effort disallowed after getting on the top of Christos Tzolis’s low cross.
It seemed like they might pay for his or her profligacy when Watkins minimize the ball again for Bellingham to fireside residence from the sting of the field.
WHEN YOU NEED A LATE GOAL – WHO ARE YOU GONNA CALL?! 🤙🏴
Jude Bellingham fires England degree! #ITVFootball | #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/fSWOqewp9t
— ITV Soccer (@itvfootball) October 10, 2024
However the guests bravely got here once more. And when Rico Lewis dawdled on the ball after extra woeful defending, it broke for Pavlidis and he rifled previous Pickford.
