Bellingham fails to save England
Midfielder Jude Bellingham scored his first goal of the season, but England lost 1-2 to Greece at Wembley in Nations League Group B2.
In the 87th minute, substitute Ollie Watkins crossed into the box, but three teammates could not finish. The ball drifted out and Bellingham came up from the second line to finish with a diagonal touch, equalizing the score at 1-1.
This is Bellingham’s first goal of the 2024-2025 season, both at club and international level. For Real Madrid, the English midfielder has only had two assists in eight matches in all competitions.
This form is in contrast to last season, when Bellingham contributed 23 goals, 13 assists in 42 matches in all competitions, helping Real win three La Liga titles, the Spanish Super Cup and the Champions League. The 21-year-old midfielder was voted La Liga Player of the Year 2023-2024 and is a strong candidate for the Ballon d’Or.
But Bellingham could not help England escape defeat at home. In the 49th minute, receiving a pass from Konstantinos Koulierakis, striker Vangelis Pavlidis turned around in front of five home players in the penalty area and then crossed the ball past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, opening the score.
In the fourth minute of injury time, from a chaotic situation in the penalty area, Pavlidis quickly finished diagonally to seal the score 2-1, helping Greece win three points right at Wembley. This was the first time Greece had defeated England in history, after seven losses and two draws in all competitions.
Pavlidis – the hero of Greece – grew up in Bochum, then moved to the Netherlands to play for Willem II Tilburg and AZ Alkmaar. He now plays for Benfica, and has scored eight goals in 41 appearances for Greece.
It was an emotional evening for Greece as they held a minute’s silence before -off for former international George Baldock, who died aged 31 this week. “It’s a very special day and a very special match for us,” Pavlidis said. “We’re all thinking about Baldock, but we’re professionals and we have to play. We’re giving our all for Baldock. Today is not a day to talk about football.”
Greece could have won by more, with three goals ruled out for offside. According to EPSN, many fans had left Wembley before Bellingham equalised in the 87th minute. The lacklustre performance dealt a to Lee Carsley’s hopes of being appointed permanent England manager. He suffered his first defeat since taking over from Gareth Southgate. Last month, in his first match in charge of the team, Carsley and the “Three Lions” Ireland and Finland with the same score of 2-0.