Greece v England, Getty Images November 14, 2024, 11:41 p.m

National team football returns to our screens during the November international break and for the coming week all we’ll be doing is discussing where the teams are at the crucial stage of the UEFA Nations League group stage. And there was really something to pay attention to, because even in division B, where, as it was believed before the start of the competition, the English national team should not notice their own opponents, there were already sensations.

Lee Carsley, as the interim head coach of the “Three Lions” in October, was just continuing to get to know the “adult” football players of his own country, until suddenly his team was defeated at the legendary Wembley by Greece (0:1), after which the quartet at number 2, the situation took an unexpected turn.

However, the group stage of the League of Nations is famous for the fact that the teams have no time to procrastinate with the analysis of mistakes, so already in a month the “three lions” made a return visit to Athens, where a warm welcome awaited them at the Spiris Louis stadium. However, if the local public coped with their duties successfully, many questions still arose regarding Ivan Yovanovych’s team itself.

Already in the seventh minute, the Hellenes conceded in their own goal, when Tsimikas on the left flank of the defense did not stop Madueke, and he shot under Watkins’ shot. Probably, a more successful start of the game for England was difficult to invent, but the Carsley team decided to make the task a little more difficult by grabbing unnecessary warnings, which against a fairly mobile opponent could create certain difficulties in the future.

However, no, the miracle did not happen. Greece created only one chance before the break, when at the end of the first half hour of playing time, Tsimikas did not beat Pickford in the “Liverpool” duel with a close-range shot from a sharp corner in the penalty area. Already after the break, yes, Jovanovic’s team tried to be more decisive in pressing, but how much was it enough in the end?

England created a couple of good chances up front, with Bellingham even hitting the post, after which the home side had a couple of good lunges, but Pickford saved Yannidis’ key shot from the center of the box, and then the partners finished things off. In the 78th minute, Bellingham formally became the author of a productive shot from outside the penalty area, but since the ball actually ended up in the net only after ricocheting off the post and the goalkeeper’s back, we still talked about an own goal.

A little later, Carsley released his “kids” from the “youth” and in the end Gibbs-White fired from the right wing of the free-kick in the 83rd minute at Jones, who beautifully back-heeled the ball into the far corner. That was the end of it. There seems to be intrigue in this group as well.

The Greek national team will visit Finland in the last round, and England will have a fundamental home duel against Ireland.

Greece — England 0:3
Goals: Watkins, 7, Vlahodimos, 78 (author), Jones, 83

Greece: Vlahodimos – Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas (Pelkas, 57) – Siopis (Mantalos, 81), Zafeiris – Masouras (Constantelias, 70), Bakasetas (Yannidis, 57), Tsolis – Pavlidis (Yannulis, 56).

England: Pickford – Walker, Gay, Konsa (Gall, 46), Lewis – Gallagher (Gibbs-White, 79), Jones – Madueke (Bowen, 66), Bellingham, Gordon (Rodgers, 66) – Watkins (Kane, 66).

Warnings: Masourasa, Zafeiris – Bellingham, Gallagher, Pickford