A 94th-minute winner by Vangelis Pavlidis gave Greece a 2-1 victory on Thursday in opposition to England in a Nations League conflict overshadowed by the demise of Greek participant George Baldock on the eve of the sport, whereas Italy have been held to a draw by Belgium. Greek striker Pavlidis netted a brace, both aspect of a late Jude Bellingham purpose, to ship Greece high of Group B2. Greece’s first-ever victory in opposition to England got here in an emotionally-charged night at Wembley, which began with a minute’s silence previous to kick-off for Baldock, an English-born Greece worldwide who drowned in his swimming pool in Athens on Wednesday.
“It was a very big day for us due to George. We are individuals and it is a particular night time due to him,” Pavlidis advised ITV.
“A troublesome second for us as a result of George was a part of the group. Special man. We must play for him and it would not matter the rating immediately. We gave every thing for him.”
The Greeks took a deserved lead within the forty ninth minute when Pavlidis danced via flimsy defending within the England field, earlier than driving the ball previous Jordan Pickford.
The guests had three disallowed targets within the match — the final of which got here simply minutes earlier than Real Madrid’s Bellingham hammered in an 87th-minute equaliser for England.
However, Greece have been to not be denied a 3rd win in three Nations League matches as England didn’t clear the hazard of their space and Pavlidis took full benefit and drilled residence a late winner.
In Group A2, Italy and Belgium performed out an eventful 2-2 attract Rome.
The Italians raced into the lead inside 60 seconds when Andrea Cambiaso obtained his first worldwide purpose by bundling residence from shut vary.
Mateo Retegui doubled the hosts’ lead on 24 minutes, sweeping residence together with his left foot after a spilled save.
Pellegrini sees purple
Italy appeared snug and have been dominating the encounter till they suffered a double blow inside the ultimate 10 minutes of the primary half.
Lorenzo Pellegrini initially picked up a yellow card for his late lunge on Arthur Theate within the thirty eighth minute however, after a VAR overview, the Italy playmaker was as a substitute proven a straight purple.
Belgium then duly halved the deficit from the ensuing free-kick, with Maxim De Cuyper ending emphatically from 25 yards following a intelligent set-piece transfer.
Arsenal ahead Leandro Trossard accomplished the Belgian comeback on 61 minutes.
A deep nook was nodded again throughout purpose and Trossard ghosted previous the static defence to prod the ball previous Gianluigi Donnarumma from shut vary.
“There are episodes that may change a sport, like their purpose instantly after we went down to 10 males,” mentioned Italy coach Luciano Spalletti.
“A consequence would not all the time rely on the soccer you play and your ways. Certainly, we might have performed higher within the second half after an excellent first half.”
Italy stay high of their group with France sitting second after they beat Israel 4-1 in Budapest.
Eduardo Camavinga gave France a seventh-minute lead when the goalkeeper fumbled his tame effort, permitting the ball to bounce over the road.
Omri Gandelman levelled on 24 minutes, earlier than Christopher Nkunku restored France’s benefit 4 minutes later with a pointy end.
As the clock wound down, the guests added two extra targets to their tally by way of Matteo Guendouzi and Bradley Barcola.
Erling Haaland scored a brace as Norway eased previous Slovenia 3-0 in Oslo to sit down high of Group B3, three factors forward of Austria who beat Kazakhstan 4-0.
Republic of Ireland got here from behind in Helsinki to beat Finland 2-1, they sit third in Group B2 behind England.
On Friday, Germany go to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary host the Netherlands in Group A3, whereas Iceland tackle Wales in Group B4.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
