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:
Greece’s matchwinner: Vangelis Pavlidis
Paul Robinson speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live
The former England goalkeeper said: “Very, very emotional evening for Greece.
“Wembley is empty apart from the blue shirts over in that corner. They’ve made an occasion for what is a very sad day. They’re still on the pitch now.”
The winning moment
It’s probably fair to say that England lost this game rather than Greece won it. Vangelis Pavlidis though had a stormer and took his chances when they came.
What a performance. This is his winning goal:
Greece dedicate win to George Baldock
The Greek team have had a ride of emotions over the last 24 hours. The news that George Baldock had passed away in Athens at just 31 years old will have rocked the squad.
Baldock represented Greece and the players have dedicated this win to him and his family.
England captain John Stones on ITV:
“On a personal note, absolutely gutted. To have a result like that with the armband for the first time.
“We prepared like we normally do and it didn’t come off. From the start they put us right under pressure. They were very compact.
“We know the system as players and when we are out there as players we we have to deliver. The onus is on us to deliver - and we didn’t.
“A difficult night, a lot was riding on it for me personally and we saw it as a great opportunity to top the group. We have to move forward.”
Can England win the group?
England can still earn automatic promotion out of League B in the Nations League but they will now need to win, and win big, against the Greeks away from home.
Not to mention, they’ll need to beat Finland and Republic of Ireland again as we can assume Greece won’t slip up against either of those teams.
Bellingham scores a cracker
Let’s rewind a touch. Here’s Jude Bellingham’s equaliser and what a goal this is. It’s also Bellingham’s first goal of the season:
England suffer first defeat under Lee Carsley
Not the night England wanted.
England player ratings vs Greece as Saka and Foden fail to shine in Nations League defeat
Lee Carsley suffered his first defeat during his role as interim manager of England with a 2-1 loss at Wembley to Greece in the Nations League.
Despite playing a whole collection of attacking options, the Three Lions were largely dismal and lacking cohesion in possession, and lacking bodies and structure out of it, leading to Greece having a succession of chances on the counter-attack.
Vangelis Pavlidis eventually found a route to goal after dribbling through the defence, only for Jude Bellingham to score a late equaliser for what looked like it would prevent Carsley suffering a first defeat - but another defensive mix-up saw Pavlidis rifle in the winner.
Here are the player ratings from Wembley.
Player ratings as Saka and Foden flop in dismal England defeat
The attacking experiment didn’t work - on or off the ball
FT England 1-2 Greece
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.
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