Greece vs England LIVE: Result and reaction as Three Lions seal victory in must-win Nations League clash

In the tale of the captain and the caretaker, Lee Carsley’s great gamble paid off. England managers can be defined by a decision involving a talismanic striker. Graham Taylor ended Gary Lineker’s international career to bring on Alan Smith. Alf Ramsey preferred Geoff Hurst to Jimmy Greaves for a World Cup final. One got it wrong, the other very right.

Carsley’s reign will be briefer, the stakes lower. But if it risked being remembered for one selection, it was justified. Harry Kane, the skipper who criticised the teammates who did not seem to want to play for England, was himself denied a start.

Ollie Watkins began instead, scored with his first touch and set England on course to a redemptive win. Wretched at Wembley last month, when they lost to Greece, they exacted revenge in ultimately impressive fashion. The worst game of Carsley’s tenure came against Greece. So, now, did the best.

The England interim boss told ITV: “It represents that we are moving in the right direction. We won’t get too carried away, we have a big game on Sunday at Wembley.

“It is just important the players played to their strengths. We have a lot of outstanding talent. The players that weren’t here, we concentrated on the ones who were. They took their opportunity today.

“Curtis Jones is an outstanding player. He played really well, even without his goal. With his goal it was an excellent performance.

“People were speaking last night about the inexperience in the squad but these players are playing for their clubs at a really high level.”

Liverpool’s Curtis Jones made his debut for England tonight and capped off a good performance with his first international goal. After the match he spoke to ITV saying:

“The lads around me helped me. I was playing free and had a smile on my face so I was enjoying it and I came in with a goal as well.

“With a team like ours, I can come high or go low and there’s lads there to help. Jude stayed back and I saw I had a chance. Luckily enough I scored.”

“There would been a million and one excuses if we didn’t play well and didn’t get over the line but lads went out and did their business so professionally. We’re back to the top of the group where we belong.”

Jude Bellingham had a stellar night for England and says he is proud of his teammates. He told ITV: “It was a good win.

“A lot was made of the lads who weren’t here but I think the ones who showed up were amazing. Curtis [Jones] - making his debut, playing as he did and scoring - was amazing. I’m really proud of the boys.”

England avenged their shock defeat to Greece at Wembley last month as Lee Carsley’s side kept their chances of promotion back to Nations League A alive with a generally positive performance in a 3-0 win in Athens.

England flew out of the blocks at the Athens Olympic Stadium with Noni Madueke and Jude Bellingham particularly impressing and they both had a key hand in Ollie Watkins’s seventh-minute goal.

However, Greece came back into the game as the first half wore on, with Kostas Tsimikas forcing Jordan Pickford into a good save and the pressure built even further after the break, when it took another superb Pickford stop to deny Fotis Ioannidis.

Becuase they triumphed tonight, England will win promotion back to League A in the Nations League if they beat the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday.

It also means Thomas Tuchel will start his job on January 1 with just the World Cup qualifiers to focus on instead of a two-legged Nations League play-off.

Here’s how Group B2 is shaping up with one game left:

1) England - Played 5, won 4, lost 1, points 12, goal difference +8

2) Greece - Played 5, won 4, lost 1, points 12, goal difference +5

3) Republic of Ireland - Played 5, won 2, lost 3, points 6, goal difference -4

4) Finland - Played 5, won 0, lost 5, points 0, goal difference -9