Greece Beat England for the First Time Ever at Wembley!

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.

Greece’s emotional victory

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.

The Greek goal hero dedicates win over England to Baldock after death.

An experiment that backfired

England’s all-the-talents attacking plan hasn’t worked. Not yet. Greece will be very happy with that. Levi Colwill should be very pleased with his acrobatic goal-line clearance, too, without which Tasos Bakasetas would have scored Greece’s first-ever goal at Wembley. Some big decisions for Lee Carsley to make at the break.

A night to forget for England

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.

Greece are the lowest ranked (48th) side to beat England in a competitive match since Northern Ireland (116th) in September 2005, and the lowest ever on record to do so on English soil.

Greece have beaten England for the first time ever (drawn two, lost seven). Their goals tonight were their first ever scored at Wembley Stadium.

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 almost saves the day

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.

A historical night for Greece

Greece is the word! England have lost their first competitive game at Wembley since 2020.

A special night for a special friend

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.

A disappointing performance for England

England captain John Stones on the death of Greece defender George Baldock: “For everyone in the dressing room and The FA, condolences to his family.

“A few of the boys were close to him. We knew it wasn’t an easy day for them. Hendo [Dean Henderson] was close to him, it wasn’t easy for him with that news.”

England’s failing experiment

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.

Player Ratings

Here are the player ratings from Wembley.

A disappointing night for England

Lee Carsley’s experiment didn’t work. Jude Bellingham almost secured a point but Vangelis Pavlidis stepped up to the plate and his two goals keep Greece at the top of Group B2.

England’s manager speaks

“We were second best for a lot of tonight, it is disappointing. You are going to get set backs and it’s important we respond.

“We tried something different and tried to overload the midfield. We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday, we experimented, and disappointed it didn’t come off. It’s unrealistic to expect too much and we will have to try again. All the goals were from mistakes, which is disappointing.

“It is definitely an option going forward. When you have someone of Kane’s quality though it rules it out when he is available. But in the future you have to have the courage and ability to try things.

“We tried something different. It doesn’t change anything. My remit is to do the three camps.”

Greece’s manager speaks

“It was a really special day for us because of George. We are people and it’s a special night because of him.

“[We have thought about him] a lot since we heard it yesterday. A difficult moment for us because George was part of the team. Special guy. We have to play for him and it doesn’t matter the score today. We gave everything for him.”

England captain speaks

“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.”

Greece’s moment of reflection

Greece are collectively overcome with emotion. Their two-goal hero Vangelis Pavlidis taps the badge, sends a kiss into the air, and points to the heavens, then his black armband. The substitute Dimitris Pelkas, barely holding back tears, holds up George Baldock’s white No2 Greece shirt. His team-mates grab a corner to make sure their dearly departed friend’s name is visible to all. This is for him, that much is extremely clear.