England turned out to be the winner of the much awaited game against Greece, with a 3-0 score against the blue and white at the top of the group on a goal advantage.
The Greek team walked in the field with great expectations, but England appeared determined to wash off their defeat at Wembley in October for the UEFA Nations League.
It wasn’t a good start for the blue and white. Only 7 minutes into the game, Noni Madueke had an easy job down the right, cut it back to Ollie Watkins who had a simple finish from close range.
Greece was shocked from the goal and was numb for the first 15 minutes, then picked up speed and built momentum but was not threatening in the English box. Only a Konstantinos Tsimikas close shot had Pickford react with a good save.
The pace slowed down as the two teams got close to the end of the first half, with England keeping the ball without doing much in offense. The slow pace had the crowd whistling impatiently.
The first half ended with a big chance for England. Only seconds before the whistle, Watkins looked to be clean through on goal, but he got the ball stuck under him and almost tripped over it.
Greece picks up speed in 2nd half
Fotis Ioannidis came from the bench in the second half to boost the Greek offense. The blue and white picked up speed, but England was good at controlling the pace. In the 54th minute, a cross by Madueke found Bellingham who saw his header hitting the post.
Ten minutes later, a good shot by Ioannidis found Pickford ready to turn it away. Greece had good possession of the ball but didn’t come close to equalize.
In 78′ Bellingham doubled the score for England with a far shot and five minutes later, Curtis Jones put an end to the game for Greece after flicking the ball brilliantly into the far corner.
The Greek side tried to score until the end, but the English defense was in great form. The two teams walked in the field as follows:
Greece: Vlachodimos, Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas, Siopis, Zafeiris, Masouras, Bakasetas, Tzolis, Pavlidis
England: Pickford, Walker, Konsa, Guehi, Lewis, Gallagher, Jones, Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon, Watkins.
A spectacular win that raised expectations
On October 10th, the national team achieved a triumph that was hard to believe for most Greeks. Beating England 2-1 at Wembley was a feat bringing back memories of winning the UEFA Euro 2004.
Greece had never beaten England before, much less in their home turf in an UEFA Nations League game. Vangelis Pavlidis was the star of the game, scoring the two goals for the blue and white.
The Greek players dedicated the victory to George Baldock, the team’s 31-year-old right back who died unexpectedly a few days earlier.
After the spectacular win, the Greek team raised the bar, sitting comfortable at the top of the group with 12 points, leaving England second with 9.