While England fans will no doubt be disappointed to have suffered a first defeat of their UEFA Nations League Group B2 campaign, West Ham United defender Dinos Mavropanos celebrated a debut Wembley appearance with an historic landmark for Greece, helping his side to a first-ever victory over the Three Lions.
Greece’s No.4 was named in Ivan Jovanović’s starting XI for the match at Wembley, earning his 30th cap since his international debut in 2021.
Mavropanos, who has enjoyed a strong 2024/25 campaign for the Hammers so far, starting five of the Club’s seven Premier League outings, lined up in the heart of the Greek back line with VfL Wolfsburg centre-back Konstantinos Koulierakis and put in an assured performance.
Both sides came into this having won their opening two games, and did not concede a goal in the process.
Before kick-off, a minute of silence was impeccably observed by all in attendance in memory of England-born Greece international George Baldock, who tragically passed away on Wednesday.
The clash at Wembley started at a frenetic pace, with both sides fashioning opportunities. For England, Jude Bellingham saw a goalbound effort tipped over by Odysseas Vlachodimos, while at the other end, Vangelis Pavlidis’ curling effort went narrowly wide of the far post.
Despite the Three Lions’ early possession, the visitors were far from out of the contest, with England thankful to Levi Colwill for a heroic goal-line clearance to deny Tasos Bakasetas.
But Greece thought they had taken the lead from the resulting corner. Mavropanos found the net with a flicked header, but the West Ham defender’s celebrations were short-lived as the assistant referee's flag was raised for offside.
England’s defensive fragility meant another gilt-edged chance arrived soon after, and only an incredible last-ditch block from the England captain for the night John Stones denied Bakasetas and stopped Greece taking the lead.
Lee Carsley’s side did offer a response, however, as Anthony Gordon played a superb through ball to Bellingham, who turned his man and rolled the ball back into the path of Cole Palmer, but he scooped his effort harmlessly over from point-blank range. Gordon then headed over unmarked from a sumptuous Trent Alexander-Arnold delivery.
The Three Lions had the final chance of a largely forgettable first half when Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick looked destined for the back post, and only some perfectly executed defending from Mavropanos, who put in an outstanding first half performance, cleared the danger.
With momentum fully behind them, Greece would deservedly open the scoring four minutes after the restart through Pavlidis, who evaded a number of challenges before firing home beyond Jordan Pickford.
England had another escape shortly after when the visitors had the ball in the net for the third time. Giorgos Masouras steered home expertly following a superb delivery from Pavlidis, only to see the ‘goal’ had been disallowed for offside.
Carsley’s no-striker experiment was soon ended as Ollie Watkins entered the fray. With his second touch, he nearly made it 1-1. But the striker, when 18 yards from goal, opted for power, and his vicious shot whistled over the bar.
Seven years after his last call-up, Dominic Solanke was next to climb off the substitutes’ bench as England threw caution to the wind to try and salvage a point, but it was Greece who looked the more likely to score again.
Pavlidis had a finish ruled out for offside, and Greece by now had found the back of the net four times but only had one goal to show for it. That appeared to prove costly for the visitors when England restored parity with just three minutes left as Bellingham looked to have spared his side's blushes. Solanke pulled the ball back close to the byline, and Bellingham, 20 yards out, ran on to the pass and side-footed a powerful shot past Vlachodimos.
The Three Lions had never lost to Greece across their nine previous meetings, going right back to their first clash in 1971—and it looked as if that trend was going to continue until Greece fittingly had the final say in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Pavlidis emerged as the Greek hero, twisting and turning inside the hosts’ penalty area, before his right-footed strike claimed a historic winner for the visitors.
Mohammed Kudus captained Ghana earlier in the afternoon as the Black Stars were held to a 0-0 draw by Sudan.
Otto Addo’s side remain winless in Group F for the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, having suffered late heartbreak against Angola and Niger.
Next up for Ghana is the must-win return game away at Sudan on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Alphonse Areola was an unused substitute as France kept up the pace with Italy in Group A2 in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League with a 4-1 away win against Israel, in a match played in Hungary.
Eduardo Camavinga opened the scoring after seven minutes with a curled low shot, as France reaped the rewards of a good start.
Omri Gandelman, however, headed home from Oscar Gloukh's long pass to equalise in the 24th minute.
But it took Les Bleus just four minutes to regain the advantage as Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku found the back of the net with a low shot after ghosting past two defenders. Matteo Guendouzi then wrapped up the win with an effort from just outside the box, and Bradley Barcola added another in the penultimate minute with a neat curling strike.
Next up for France is a mouth-watering clash with Belgium on Monday at King Baudouin Stadium.
Elsewhere, West Ham duo Kaelan Casey and George Earthy, currently on loan at Championship side Bristol City, were both in the starting XI for Elite League Squad (ELS, formerly known as U20s), as they maintained their unbeaten start to U20 Elite League with a last-minute win over Italy U20s.
Bologna’s Tomasso Ebone opened the scoring late in the first half for Gli Azzurri, but the Young Lions side staged a storming second half comeback with goals from Darko Gyabi and Max Dean, sealing a 2-1 away win.
Finally, young goalkeeper Krisztián Hegyi, who is currently on loan at Scottish Premiership outfit Motherwell, was an unused substitute for Hungary’s U21s as they beat Malta U21s 2-1 in 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying.
