Have you heard? Ivan Jovanovic’s Greece have stunned England to earn a historic 2-1 victory, a result which sits them proudly at the top of UEFA Nations League Group B2.
This SBOTOP writer boldly predicted there would be no Greek tragedy for the Three Lions at Wembley, but we can all be wrong, and I hold my hands up.
As for England interim manager Lee Carsley, he may be ruing his decision to play without a recognised striker, as his team failed to break down the Greek defence, registering no shots on target in the first half and just two in the entire match.
The injured Harry Kane could well be back for England’s next game, but Carsley started the game without either Ollie Watkins or Dominic Solanke in replacement, preferring an experimental frontline, and his decision backfired.
He brought the Aston Villa and Tottenham strikers on eventually, and Solanke provided an assist for Jude Bellingham’s late equaliser, but Greece scored late to earn a well-deserved win.
As lame as the Lions were, Greece were grea,t and they picked up the most spectacular of all UEFA Nations League 2024 results, as recalled striker Vangelis Pavlidis scored a brace. And with three more goals narrowly ruled out, it could have been a rout if VAR had fallen on the side of the visitors a little more often.
Pavlidis came in for Fotis Ioannidis, who was injured while playing for Panathinaikos in the “Derby of Eternal Enemies” against Olympiacos at the weekend, and the 25-year-old took his chance in some style.
The warning signs were all too clear for England, as Greece came out of he blocks much quicker, with Pavlidis curling an early shot narrowly wide. And when England keeper Jordan Pickford needlessly dribbled the ball out of his area, he was robbed, and only an amazing goal-line clearance from Levi Colwill saved the stoppers’ blushes.
Konstantinos Mavropanos had a header ruled offside as the teams went in level at the break.
But it didn’t take long for the 48th-ranked visitors to take the lead, and it was a beauty, as Pavlidis weaved past a couple of defenders before drilling a low shot past Pickford and into the net.
England thought they had snatched a leveller in the 87th minute when Bellingham smashed a shot form 20 yards home but, after some slack defending from the Three Lions, Pavlidis took advantage with another neat finish to sent the loud and proud visiting fans wild.
The home stands were already emptying at 1-0 when Greece scored again, only for a long VAR delay to keep the deficit to one, and some of the fans had returned in time to see Bellingham’s goal. But they may well have wished they’d stuck to their plan to beat the traffic when Pavlidis struck again.
England’s clash with Greece was a second tier match following the Three Lions’ relegation in the last Nations League competition, and it turned out to be a humiliation, as they fell to their first loss at Wembley in four years and a first of all-time against Greece.
Belgium were hoping for some salvation when they went to face Italy in Rome, and they earned a little, with a big helping hand from the referee.
Italy forward Lorenzo Pellegrini was red carded for a tackle on Arthur Theate after a VAR review when the Azzurri led 2-0 through first-half goals from Andrea Cambiaso and Mateo Retegui. After he received his marching orders, Belgium fought back, and goals from Maxim De Cuyper and Leandro Trossard earned a much needed point.
The UEFA Nations League 2024 betting odds back Didier Deschamps France as one of the four favourites for the tournament, alongside Spain, Portugal, and Germany, and Les Bleus delivered emphatically with a 4-1 win away to Israel.
Following the retirement of Antoine Griezmann from international duty and the absence of Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni took the captain’s armband, and his team took only seven minutes to go ahead, as Eduardo Camavinga scored his first international goal with a low shot through a crowded Israel defence. However, the underdogs quickly equalised through Omri Gandelman.
Camavinga claimed as assist when he fed Christopher Nkunku for France’s second, and late goals from Matteo Guendouzi and Bradley Barcola made the game safe to take France on to six points from three games, one behind Group A2 leaders Italy.
In other news, Erling Haaland became Norway’s top scorer of all time with his 33rd and 34th international goals in a 3-0 win over Slovenia.
Alexander Sorloth scored the third, but the Manchester City man took the headlines as he beat the record set by Jorgen Juve almost a century ago.
There’s more UEFA Nations League action on the way with the highly fancied Germany and the Netherlands both in action in Group A3 on Friday night but, for now, this is Haaland’s night and Greece’s week.
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