Greece Stun England at Wembley Thanks to Vangelis Pavlidis’ Stunning Brace

Following their commanding 2-0 victories over Republic of Ireland and Finland, England’s Nations League campaign came to a grinding stop, as Greece stunned the Euro 2024 finalist at Wembley thanks to a brace from Vangelis Pavlidis. This victory takes Greece to the top of League B Group 2, three points clear of England.

Before the game, Lee Carsley had done his reputation no harm after securing victories in his first two matches in-charge. However, his experimental side crashed and burned last night against Greece. Without their talismanic skipper – Harry Kane – England lined up without a recognized striker. Jude Bellingham was tasked to play the False Nine role, while Chelsea’s Cole Palmer was entrusted to play a much deeper role in midfield. To say this experiment failed would be an understatement. The Three Lions appeared completely out of sync and disorganized for much of the game, allowing Greece to walk away with a well-earned three points. Adding to the emotional weight of the match was the recent passing of former Greece and Sheffield United defender, George Baldock, making Greece’s victory all the more poignant. 

Vangelis Pavlidis gave Greece the lead they had been threatening all game in the 49th minute after weaving past a couple of England defenders before finding the back of the net. But truth be told, Greece could have gone ahead much earlier. In the 9th minute, Jordan Pickford made a hash of an attempted clearance outside his box, leaving Tasos Bakasetas with an open goal. However, a stunning Levi Colwill goal-line clearance saved the Three Lions’ their blushes. The visitors also saw three goals chalked off due to narrow offside calls.  

For a team known for its solid defensive setup under Gareth Southgate, England looked surprisingly vulnerable. By the 85th minute, it seemed certain they were on their way to their first defeat at Wembley in four years. That is until Jude Bellingham stepped up, as he so often does. The 21-year-old Galactico rifled in a thunderous shot from the edge of the box in the 87th minute, seemingly snatching a fortunate draw for the Three Lions—remarkable considering England had only managed one shot on target prior to that.  

However, Greece stunned the Wembley crowd, as Pavlidis scored his second of the night in the 94th minute after some clumsy defending from England. Following the match, Lee Carsley admitted that his troops were second best on the night. He said, “We were second best for a lot of tonight. It's disappointing. We are going to get setbacks and it's important we respond versus Finland. We tried something different and play differently. We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday and it's disappointing it didn't come off.” The Three Lions travel to Helsinki to face Finland in their next Nations League game on Sunday.