Lee Carsley faced his first challenges as England’s interim coach after a daring team choice led to a 2-1 loss at home to Greece in the Nations League on Thursday.
Erling Haaland became Norway’s all-time top scorer at just 24 years old, scoring two goals in their 3-0 win against Slovakia. Meanwhile, France, missing Kylian Mbappé and retired Antoine Griezmann, still comfortably defeated Israel 4-1.
After guiding England to two wins since taking over as temporary coach following the European Championship, Carsley felt confident enough to field a lineup without a recognized striker due to injured captain Harry Kane.
While the team looked promising on paper, it fell apart on the field as Greece exploited gaps in England’s stretched defense. Vangelis Pavlidis scored the first goal for Greece in the 49th minute.
Jude Bellingham equalized in the 87th, but Pavlidis scored again in the fourth minute of stoppage time due to more careless defending.
Greece celebrated a significant victory by holding up the No. 2 jersey of George Baldock, a Panathinaikos defender who was found dead in his Athens home at the age of 31. Baldock had played 12 matches for Greece, and a moment of silence was observed before the game, with players wearing black armbands.
Pavlidis expressed, “We gave everything for him,” referring to Baldock, whom he called a “special guy.”
This defeat marks England’s first loss to Greece, ranked No. 48 in the world, in ten meetings and is a significant setback for Carsley’s ambitions of becoming the permanent national team coach.
The intended setup was meant to be flexible, featuring in-form Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer making his competitive international debut in central midfield, while Phil Foden and Bellingham took turns playing as the most advanced attackers in a midfield-heavy formation.
