After the results smiled in the interim in the previous break Lee Carsleywith England managing to beat Ireland (0-2) and Finland (2-0), yesterday the ‘pros’ agreed Wembley a humiliating defeat that was also ended by an always painful (when conceded) goal in extra time. He went to Greece as the executioner of the English and had VAngelis Pavlidis especially inspired to score a double where the Greek team was able to dedicate the victory to George Baldock, an international from that country who died recently at the age of 31.
The experiment did not go well. Lee Carsleywhich due to injury did not feature Harry Kane, decided to play without a center forward although there is a surplus of second-line footballers when joining the eleven Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham. England took the initiative in the game, yes, but there was no ‘punch’ required to deactivate Greece’s defensive system.
After a goalless first half, it was Pavlidis opened the scoring early in the second period. It was in the 49th minute, when he lost Pickford in the face of the passivity of Palmer, Stones and Alexander-Arnoldwho did little and did nothing to make him uncomfortable during his stay in the area.
From there, with a disadvantage on the scoreboard, there is no other option for England than press the accelerator. And it paid off the efforts Bukayo Sakawho had to leave the field of play due to an injury that appeared to be a muscle micro-tear. But in the end, in the 87th minute, the tying goal came. It is made by Bellinghamwhen the Madrid player connected with a hard shot after handling a dead ball in the area.
There seemed to be enough time to complete the English comeback thanks to a final push, but it ended 1-2 to Greece. It was in added time and after scoring again Pavlidisagain without opposition within the English area. The defeat will no doubt hurt the ‘pros’, who have many stars in their squad but still temporarily, seem to have lost their way
Technical sheet:
1- England: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Colwill, Stones, Lewis; Rice, Bellingham, Foden (Solanke, d.72); Saka (Madueke, m.52), Palmer and Gordon (Watkins, m.60).
2 – Greece: Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Giannoulis; Kourbelis (Mantalos, m.73), Siopis (Zafeiris, m.66), Bakasetas (Vagiannidis, m.86); Masouras (Pelkas, m.65), Tzolis (Konstantalias, m.86) and Pavlidis.
Objectives: 0-1, m.49: Pavlidis. 1-1, m.87: Bellingham. 1-2, m.94: Pavlidis.
Referee: Andrea Colombo (Italy). He advised Saka (m.45+1) and Rice (m.53) for England and Koulierakis (m.6), Kourbelis (m.71), Pavlidis (m.91) and Pelkas (m.92) for on the part of Greece.
Events: Matchday three of Group 2 of League B of the Nations League played at Wembley Stadium (London) in front of 79,012 spectators. A minute of silence observed the death of George Baldockformer Sheffield United player.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.