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
37 mins: Foden and Bellingham combine on the edge of the box with some short, sharp passes but Foden can’t find enough space inside the area to take a shot.
The ball is sent back to John Stones but England come again quickly. They find Bukayo Saka who cuts onto his left foot and shoots winning England a corner.
England 0-0 Greece
34 mins: England are still trying to get things to click. The players don’t look well drilled enough for this formation to work properly (they aren’t as they’ve only had three sessions to practice it).
What it is doing though is making the game entertaining. The fans inside the ground seem to be enjoying themselves.
England 0-0 Greece
31 mins: Chance!
A cross comes in from deep with pace on it as Anthony Gordon bursts through the defence. He’s wide open but a ways out from goal when he attempts a headed effort.
He gets plenty of the ball but nods it over the top.
England 0-0 Greece
29 mins: This is better from England. Palmer is dictating from midfield and tries to feed the ball through a small gap for Saka. Giannoulis intercepts and clears but the Three Lions recover the ball and send it over to Gordon.
Gordon carries it into the box, goes on the outside and wins a corner as Lazaros Rota turns the ball out of play.
England 0-0 Greece
26 mins: Bakasetas goes form goal from a long way out but is charged down by Declan Rice. The visitors are enjoying their night here as England’s formation is providing them a lot of space to run into.
England’s attacking prowess means they need to control the game and so far they haven’t been able to.
England 0-0 Greece
24 mins: Close!
It’s end-to-end stuff this. Anthony Gordon takes the ball into space on the left before slipping a pass into the box for Jude Bellingham.
He manages to shift to the right before passing it across to Cole Palmer. Palmer shoots but whips the ball over the top!
England 0-0 Greece
21 mins: Chance!
Alexander-Arnold gives the ball away and Christos Tzolis flies down the left hand side. Dimitris Giannoulis makes an overlapping run before cutting it back into the box for Anastasios Bakasetas.
He shoots and drills a low effort at goal only for John Stones to flick it wide before Rico Lewis completes the clearance.
England 0-0 Greece
18 mins: England don’t look all that confident with this new formation and their defence has suffered for it. Levi Colwill is the only reason the game is still on level terms.
Rico Lewis makes a forward run on the left but gets bungled off the ball and Greece attempt to break. Phil Foden shuffles across and pokes the ball out for a throw in.
England 0-0 Greece
15 mins: Jude Bellingham makes a fantastic run in behind and is picked out by Trent Alexander-Arnold. Bellingham eases into the box from the right side but only has a couple of tough options.
He decides to shoot from a tight angle and fizzes the ball over the crossbar.
England 0-0 Greece
12 mins: Trent Alexander-Arnold boots the ball forward in order to ease some of the pressure on England’s back line. There were struggling to deal with the Greece press and Jordan Pickford will be low on confidence at the minute after those two mistakes.
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