Lee Carsley’s honeymoon period as England interim manager came to a crashing halt as a Vangelis Pavlidis double gave Greece a deserved 2-1 Nations League win at Wembley.
Carsley had appeared a shoo-in for the job ahead of kick-off, but his experimental England line-up and the disjointed performance which followed will raise more questions than answers as they fell to FIFA’s 48th-ranked side.
Pavlidis slotted Greece ahead five minutes into the second half after dancing past a number of England players, but the visitors almost led much earlier when it needed an acrobatic goal-line clearance from Levi Colwill to deny Tasos Bakasetas.
The visitors saw three more goals denied by narrow offside calls, indicative of England’s open and often porous defence, while a late scramble leading to Pavlidis’ 94th-minute winner was typical of their evening – and nothing less than Greece deserved.
Greece players hold aloft a shirt in memory of George Baldock after Pavlidis’ opener
Cole Palmer had blasted over England’s best chance of the night before that with Anthony Gordon also culpable when miscuing a header from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross, as the hosts managed just a single shot on target before Jude Bellingham struck an 87th-minute equaliser.
The 21-year-old carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders yet again as he popped up with another late leveller, when his long-range effort was parried into the top corner in the 87th minute.
That briefly looked like rescuing a valuable point in England’s hopes of winning their Nations League group – but with those aspirations now cast into serious doubt, Carsley’s fate may face similar scrutiny after his tactical gamble backfired so spectacularly.
Analysis: Carsley took a gamble – and suffered the consequences
Levi Colwill had to clear off the line to deny Greece an early opener
Sky Sports’ Ron Walker at Wembley Stadium:
“There was no definitive answer to how England would line up when their team was announced with Lee Carsley reassuring fans his striker-less selection would be fluid in their build-up.
“You could see what Carsley was trying to do, but on the back of three days’ preparation it was immediately clear his players were not comfortable or familiar enough to play the system.
“England were overcrowded in attack, ponderous on the ball and open without it. Greece could have won by more, and certainly should have been ahead by the time of their opener.
“When you make a gamble like this, it has to pay off. Carsley is no stranger to experimental line-ups; he played with Anthony Gordon and Morgan Gibbs-White as makeshift forwards in the U21s’ run to the Euro 2023 title.
“But this is another level up, against the best opponent in their group. He was tactically outmastered by Ivan Jovanovic.
“Carsley denied his line-up had been experimental but in another interview he admitted his side had only tried this new style for 20 minutes on Wednesday. If that’s not an experiment, I don’t know what is.”
How England’s bad night could have been even worse…
- 11th minute: GOAL DISALLOWED! “Mavropanos heads the ball into the back of the net after the England ‘keeper failed to punch it clear – but it’s ruled out for offside!”
- 60th minute: ANOTHER DISALLOWED GOAL! “Pavlidis gets forward again and squares it to Masouras, who lashes his effort into the back of the net. However, his celebrations are stopped in their tracks by the offside flag…”
- 85th minute: AND A THIRD! “Pavlidis grabs his second! Giannoulis pounces on a loose pass and dishes the ball to Tzolis, who squares the ball to his striker. It could be offside actually… VAR are checking the pass to Tzolis in the build-up. Disallowed!”
What’s next?
England’s Nations League campaign continues this week when they visit Finland on Sunday, October 13; kick off 5pm.
