Coach Lee Carsley experimented a number of times in the home game against Greece. He didn't field a pure center forward, leaving Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke on the bench. Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, and Phil Foden were the three players playing furthest forward.
Despite controlling possession well, England lacked the sharpness to score. They even came close to conceding in the first half, if Levi Colwill hadn't saved them on the goal line from a long-range shot by Greece.
After a lackluster first half, England conceded a goal in the 49th minute. Konstantinos Koulierakis comfortably dribbled through the middle before passing to Vangelis Pavlidis. The number 14 player unleashed a powerful shot into the far corner, beating goalkeeper Pickford.
Like in their matches at EURO 2024, England played very well after conceding a goal. They found the equalizer in the 87th minute through Jude Bellingham, making it 1-1. The Real Madrid midfielder curled a shot from inside the penalty area. Goalkeeper Vlachodimos got a hand to the ball but couldn't stop it.
In the 90+4th minute, the English defense played erratically, costing Jordan Pickford dearly. Rico Lewis and Levi Colwill collided and fell to the ground. The ball landed perfectly for Vangelis Pavlidis, allowing the Greek player to shoot diagonally into the net, securing a 2-1 victory for the visitors. This was the first time Greece had beaten England. These three points allowed Greece to take the top spot in Group B2 of the Nations League from England.
England lost to Greece for the first time in their history.
In the other match played at the same time, Italy drew 2-2 with Belgium at the Olympico Stadium. The Azzurri were reduced to ten men at the end of the second half after Manuel Pellegrini received a red card. Despite leading by two goals, playing with 10 men left Italy completely outmatched by Belgium. Just two minutes after Roma's captain was sent off, Belgium found a goal to reduce the deficit through Maxim De Cuyper.
In the second half, Belgium unleashed eight shots, four times more than Italy's attempts. Belgium equalized 2-2 after Leandro Trossard scored in the 61st minute. This was also the final score of the match between Italy and Belgium. Coach Luciano Spalletti's team currently remains at the top of Group A2 of the Nations League with 7 points.
Also in this group, France secured an easy victory despite the absence of Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann. France took an early lead through Camavinga in the 7th minute, but conceded an equalizer in the 24th minute through Gandelman's strike. After Nkunku restored the lead in the 28th minute, France dominated and added two late goals in the 87th and 89th minutes. The goalscorers were Matteo Guenduzi and Bradley Barcola. Winning 4-1, France currently sits second in Group A2 with 6 points, still one point behind Italy.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/khong-co-kane-tuyen-anh-thua-soc-hy-lap-ar901227.html
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