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
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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:
England 0-0 Greece
10 mins: Disallowed!
Jordan Pickford is having a nightmare. First up he decides to come out of his penalty area to take control of the ball then takes too long to decide what to do with it.
He passes it to his opponents who then flick the ball at goal and Pickford’s blushes are spared but Levi Colwill clearing the ball off the line!
From the resultant corner, Pickford decides to come for the ball. He misses it and it gets poked to Konstantinos Mavropanos who dinks it into the back of the net only for the offside flag to go up!
England 0-0 Greece
7 mins: Oh hello!
Konstantinos Koulierakis clatters into Jude Bellingham who beats him to a loose ball. He takes out the midfielder over to the right side of the pitch just outside the box.
The defender is shown a yellow card and will miss the next match.
Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold stand over the ball. It’s Palmer who strikes the effort and lands the ball just on the roof of the net.
Decent effort.
England 0-0 Greece
5 mins: Close!
England get caught on the break after Bellingham loses possession. Greece sweep forward quickly and work the ball up to Vangelis Pavlidis.
The forward checks to the right and curls a shot towards the far bottom corner. He strikes it well but Jordan Pickford isn’t interested and watches the ball go wide.
England 0-0 Greece
3 mins: Rico Lewis releases Jude Bellingham down the left side of the pitch and the Real Madrid star attempts to drive into the box. He loses possession but it comes out to Anthony Gordon who rolls a pass over to Cole Palmer.
Palmer looks to shoot first time but fumbles the ball.
It comes back across to Bellingham who spins and rattles a shot at goal that Odysseus Vlachodimos leaps to his left to push wide of the post.
England 0-0 Greece
“For a game that isn't maybe the most momentous, there is some discussion here at Wembley over whether Lee Carsley's line-up is the most revolutionary England have ever had.
“It is certainly a historic landmark.
“It might just be the first time that England have started a game without a traditional striker or number-nine. That may not be so remarkable in the context of the modern game, but it is for the national team. England have just always had a nine, and not simply in terms of tactics.
“There's always been that defined front man. Is Harry Kane the last one in that sense, potentially the end of a lineage that goes through Jimmy Greaves and Geoff Hurst to Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer?
“His place was taken here by Jude Bellingham, who started as a false nine - although a connected question: at what point does a false nine just become... a nine.
“The game will tell. This low-key historic moment may be the future.”
Kick off! England 0-0 Greece
There is a period of silence before the start of this Nations League match in memory of George Baldock who passed away in Athens yesterday at the age of 31.
England then get the ball rolling.
Will England miss Harry Kane?
England captain Harry Kane has scored 26 goals in 26 competitive home appearances for the Three Lions, scoring on each of his last six such outings (nine goals) – only Steve Bloomer (1895-1899) and Wayne Rooney (2012-2015) have ever scored in seven straight competitive home games for the nation.
Kane has had a hand in 28 goals in his last 28 appearances at Wembley Stadium for England (25 goals, three assists), netting 14 goals in his last 14 games at the ground.
England vs Greece
Here come the players.
John Stones is the England captain for the evening and will partner Levi Colwill in central defence against the Greeks. Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka are all in the starting line-up and this promises to be a free flowing attacking game.
Will it work?
We’re about to find out...
Roy Keane explains why ‘brilliant’ Cole Palmer is a player ‘you’d pay to watch’
With Lee Carsley opting to start Cole Palmer in an attacking midfield role for England’s Nations League encounter with Greece, much attention was quickly about how to get the best out of the Three Lions side with him involved - and why he could be such an important player.
Palmer was named England’s men’s player of the year recently - though was yet to even collect ten senior caps at the time, with the fixture against the Greeks bringing up his double figures.
But it’s only the start of a journey which must make him a massive part of the plans, be it with Carlsey in charge on a permanent basis or not. That’s the opinion of former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, who singled out Palmer’s mindset and technical qualities as the keys to making him such an impressive performer.
Roy Keane explains why ‘brilliant’ Palmer is a player ‘you’d pay to watch’
Palmer has reached double figures in England caps with his start against Greece
Bellingham, Foden or Palmer? Lee Carsley knows England need something else entirely
After of course speaking at length about Cole Palmer, Lee Carsley wanted to make one clarification. He has no plans to play the Chelsea star at left-back. The interim England manager last week referenced how Palmer is so talented that he can play there, only for that to cause some commotion.
“I definitely won’t be saying anything like that again!”
Carsley then went on an instructive explanation of one vision for the position – “not like a traditional Ashley Cole kind of thing” – which touched on a far bigger discussion over the forward.
Bellingham, Foden or Palmer? Lee Carsley knows England need something else entirely
Carsley has been compared to Pep Guardiola and will need to find a way to maximise the attacking talent available to the Three Lions
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