London, Oct 11 2024-
Vangelis Pavlidis struck twice as Greece earned an historic triumph away against England to maintain their 100 percent record in the current edition of the UEFA Nations League.
The famous victory was dedicated by the players to England-born Greek international George Baldock, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 31.
A minute’s silence was held in memory of Baldock before the match, and Pavlidis, the first Greek to score at the historic Wembley, celebrated the goals by showing the black armband before all players collectively raised Baldock’s number two shirt in celebration.
Tasos Bakasetas was denied by a spectacular goal-line clearance from Levi Colwill in a first half during which Cole Palmer could have given England the lead. The visitors made the breakthrough shortly after halftime though, as Pavlidis broke through the England defence before planting his finish under Jordan Pickford.
Jude Bellingham thumped in a late equaliser for the Three Lions but there was still time for Pavlidis to have the final say in the 94th minute. He fired a low beyond Jordan Pickford in added time to take all three points and go top of the group.
In another match, France closed the gap on Italy in Group A2 thanks to a resounding 4-1 victory.
In the absence of Kylian Mbappe, it was Aurelien Tchouameni who captained Les Bleus. However, it was his midfield partner, Eduardo Camavinga, who opened the scoring after only seven minutes as Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer failed to keep out his effort.
Omri Gandelman levelled with a header but parity was short-lived with Christopher Nkunku quickly scoring his first goal for France from close range. Late strikes from Matteo Guendouzi and Bradley Barcola then added a certain sheen to the result for Didier Deschamps’ side.
Elsewhere, Lorenzo Pellegrini’s red card was a turning point as Belgium came from two goals down to playout 2-2 draw with Italy in Rome. The hosts had a brilliant start, scoring after 59 seconds through Andrea Cambiaso, before adding a second as Mateo Retegui rolled in when Koen Casteels failed to hold.
But after the Azzurri were reduced to ten players, Belgium pulled one back almost straight away when Maxim De Cuyper bent in. Then, just after the hour mark, the visitors claimed a point as Leandro Trossard poked in a clever volley from a Wout Faes header. (Agency)
