England interim manager Lee Carsley’s all-out attacking strategy backfired badly as they slumped to a shock defeat by Greece in the Uefa Nations League at Wembley.
Jude Bellingham's 87th-minute goal looked to have rescued a desperately disappointing England display after Vangelis Pavlidis gave Greece a deserved lead with a composed finish four minutes into the second half.
Greece responded to earn a deserved victory as Pavlidis struck again deep into stoppage time on a chastening night for England and interim boss Carsley.
In the absence of injured captain Harry Kane, Carsley went without a recognised striker by using Jude Bellingham in a false nine role and playing Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer.
The result was a disjointed, confused mess, as Carsley’s 100% record since succeeding Gareth Southgate was ended by a well-organised Greece side, who actually had the ball in the net five times only to see three ruled out for offside.
England were fortunate to survive until four minutes after the break, especially when keeper Jordan Pickford was stranded outside his area early on and had to be rescued by Levi Colwill’s superb goalline clearance from Tasos Bakasetas, but it was no surprise when Pavlidis put Greece ahead with a fine finish.
The Greek players interrupted their celebrations to lift a shirt bearing the name of George Baldock, their former international colleague, who died on Wednesday aged 31.
Carsley, seeing his tactical plan failing, sent on strike duo Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke, winning his second full cap seven years after his first.
England pushed for an unlikely victory after Bellingham fired high past Greece keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, but the visitors were a threat all night and punished Carsley's side once more in a dramatic finale.
Carsley's ploy bold but badly flawed
Carsley's ambitious game plan of packing his side with attacking talent such as Bellingham, Palmer, Cole, Saka and Foden looked exciting on paper - but was exposed within minutes.
Greece, more structured, took advantage of this imbalanced England throughout as attacking areas were overcrowded, defensive areas left undermanned and Declan Rice overrun in central midfield as he tried in vain to plug the gaps left around him.
England keeper Pickford, normally so reliable for his country, added to the nerves with a hectic, error-strewn opening, the tone set for a night when Greece were the more threatening side throughout, their supremacy only undermined by a habit of running offside in moments of over-excitement.
Carsley ignored the claims of Solanke and Watkins to start, giving the team a focal point in attack, instead leaving players packing into areas in a classic "too many cooks" scenario. England’s front-loaded team left the defence vulnerable every time possession was turned over.
It was a cold shower for Carsley, who had made the ideal start with wins away to the Republic of Ireland and at home to Finland. This was his first mis-step - but it was a big one.
The stakes have now been raised for Carsley and England before their next game, against Finland again, in Helsinki on Sunday.
Greece honour Baldock on moving night
There were emotional scenes when Pavlidis showed clever footwork to dance between England's defenders before driving low past Pickford for Greece's first-ever Wembley goal.
He raced away to celebrate in front of the elated visiting fans, pointing at the black armband he was wearing in memory of Baldock, best known for playing for Sheffield United, but who also made 12 appearances for Greece.
The Greek players were determined to honour Baldock as they then held up a shirt emblazoned with his name - and they also honoured their former colleague with the manner of this performance, which was a credit to them and brought a well-merited win.
BBC