England vs Greece LIVE: Nations League result and reaction as hosts concede calamitous late goal
England 1-2 Greece: Vangelis Pavlidis’ two goals secured all three points
England suffered their first defeat under Lee Carsley in a thrilling and frustrating encounter with Greece at Wembley. Having named an attacking and experimental line-up Carsley watched on in shock as his team were outclassed on the turf whilst struggling to utilise the talents of Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka in a coherent way.
The Greeks should have led at half-time. They had a goal disallowed after Jordan Pickford made some quickfire errors in an uncharacteristically nervous performance. They did lead just after the break with Vangelis Pavlidis weaving through three defenders to slot a low effort past the goalkeeper.
Two more disallowed goals for Greece tells the story of a shaky English defence that lacked substance. The progression nature of the full backs too often allowing space on the counter and leaving John Stones and Levi Colwill with too much to do. In the dying stages Jude Bellingham smoked in a rocket strike that almost nicked England a point.
The deciding moment though came to Pavlidis. England scrambled in the box once again and knocked the ball to the striker who took his chance and secured a first ever win against the Three Lions for Greece.
Relive the Nations League action with our live blog below:
Lee Carsley confirms Harry Kane won’t start for England against Greece - ‘We won’t take a chance’
Interim boss Lee Carsley says he “won’t take a chance” with Harry Kane’s fitness in England’s Nations League clash against Greece as the skipper deals with a knock.
A month on from celebrating his 100th cap with a match-winning brace against Finland, the 31-year-old could miss Thursday’s Wembley return against the Group B2 leaders.
Kane sustained a knock during Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga clash with Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday and has been unable to train with the group despite getting the green light to stay with England.
Carsley confirms Kane won’t start for England against Greece
The 31-year-old could miss Thursday’s Wembley return against the Group B2 leaders.
Jack Grealish reveals which England teammate he will never ask to babysit new daughter
Jack Grealish has revealed which of his England teammates he will never ask to babysit his new baby daughter.
The Manchester City player announced the safe arrival of his first child Mila with partner Sasha Ashwood earlier this week.
In an interview with BBC Sport on Wednesday, ahead of England’s match against Greece, Grealish was asked which of his Three Lions teammates would be the best and worst babysitter.
The 29-year-old chose Harry Kane as his preferred favourite, when pressed on his least preferred choice, he chose Bukayo Saka, stating the Arsenal winger might “fall asleep”.
England vs Greece prediction
With England in great form and fully revitalised under interim manager Lee Carsley they should be looking forward to a more challenging outing this evening.
Greece are unbeaten in the Nations League so far but will likely be forced to change their style of play against the Three Lions. It may take a while for the first goal to come but England will look to take advantage when it does.
England 3-0 Greece.
Predicted line-ups
Here’s how we see both teams lining up tonight given pre-match information and how we think the manager’s will see the match playing out. Lee Carsley has a job on his hands fitting Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham into the team so it seems likely at least one will be on the bench.
I can easily see Palmer or Foden starting on the left side ahead of Anthony Gordon though the Newcastle winger impressed in the previous camp and deserves to keep his spot.
England XI: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Colwill; Gomes, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Watkins
Greece XI: Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas; Bouchalakis, Mantalos; Chatzigiovannis, Bakasetas, Pelkas; Pavlidis
As for the latest odds, it should come as no surprise that England are the heavy favourites though without Harry Kane up front the match will likely be a closer affair than expected.
England win 1/5
Draw 7/2
Greece win 9/1
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Greece early team news
Greece have been dealt a huge blow to their chances of winning as Fotis Ioannidis sustained an injury during Panathinaikos’ recent Greek Super League clash with Olympiacos and has been left out of the squad.
Vangelis Pavlidis should lead the line as a result with the rest of the squad taking up a more familiar shape. Goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos should win his 45th cap in goal.
England early team news
Harry Kane did not train with the rest of the squad on Tuesday as he recovers from a thigh injury and the England captain is a doubt for this game. He trained indoors on a specialised programme so may be able to feature at some point though a starting place is unlikely.
Ezri Konsa, Morgan Gibbs-White and Kobbie Mainoo all withdrew from the squad on Monday having picked up respective injuries over the weekend. Having returned to the squad for this camp, Kyle Walker, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are all in line to start for the Three Lions.
How can I watch it?
This Nations League clash will be shown on ITV1 and ITV X with coverage starting at 7pm BST.
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When is England vs Greece?
England vs Greece is due to kick off at 7.45pm BST on Thursday 10 October at Wembley Stadium.
England vs Greece
England face their biggest test of the Nations League so far when they welcome Greece to Wembley in a top of the table clash in Group B2.
Neither team have lost a game since the resumption of this tournament with both defeating Finland and the Republic of Ireland in September’s international break.
Greece have made the better start, keeping two clean sheets and scoring more goals (five compared to four from the Three Lions) though there is very little to separate the sides.
Both teams could also be missing their main forward with Fotis Ioannidis out of the Greece squad due to injury and Harry Kane still trying to recover from a thigh problem.
Welcome!
Good evening one and all. England are back in Nations League action at Wembley tonight as they take on Greece in a blockbuster clash at the top of Group B2.
Neither team has lost yet in the competition but both sides are missing their main strikers as Harry Kane and Fotis Ioannidis will sit this one out (Kane may make an appearance off the bench but won’t start).
We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and updates throughout the evening so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 7.45pm.
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