England player ratings as Three Lions suffer shock first defeat against Greece | Football
England’s positive start under new interim boss Lee Carsley was brought to a crashing halt as the Three Lions suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat to Greece.
Deploying an extremely attacking lineup, England looked vulnerable on the break on several occasions and were eventually punished when Vangelis Pavlidis fired home in the second half.
Jude Bellingham thought he had grabbed a dramatic late equaliser to spare England’s blushes but Pavlidis’ injury-time winner condemned England to their first competitive defeat at Wembley in four years and their first-ever defeat against Greece.
Jordan Pickford – 4
Far from his most assured performance in an Enghland shirt. An uncharacteristic mistake on the ball nearly cost England in the first half and had his blushes spared in the second half when he gifted the ball away for a goal that was later ruled out.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6
Showcased his superb range of passing to get England moving in the first half in the first half but perhaps let Pavlidis go past him too easily inside the box when the Greek forward opened the scoring.
John Stones – 6
Not the result he would have hoped for as he captained England for the first time. Struggled at points as Greece hit England on the counter at will and was beaten far too easily for Greece’s first goal.
Levi Colwill – 6
Helped Pickford out in the first half with a superb goal-line clearance and was constantly tested by a vibrant, energetic Greek front line. Used his pace on several occasions to bail the England defense out of jail.
Rico Lewis – 5
A steady performance from the Manchester City youngster up until the final moments when he failed to clear his lines as Greece scored their late winner. Will get more chances to show his quality in the coming months.
Declan Rice – 5
Had a difficult task marshalling the midfield without a recognised partner and was caught out on a couple of occasions in transition when Greece broke forward.
Cole Palmer – 6
Spurned England’s best chance of the first half and struggled otherwise to impact the game in an attacking sense when playing in a deeper position.
Phil Foden – 5
Still struggling to produce his best football in an England shirt. Given a freer, more central role tonight but had no shots and just two touches in the Greek penalty area before being subbed off.
Bukayo Saka – 4
Had just one shot in goal before coming off with an injury in the second half. Found it hard to have an influence on the game with so many other attacking players on the pitch.
Jude Bellingham – 7
Might have been expected to lead the line in Harry Kane’s absence but had far more of a free role as England’s attacking players rotated. Stung the palms of the Greek keeper with a fierce effort early on but found his way past Odisseas Vlachodimoslate on to pull England level.
Anthony Gordon – 5
A looping header in the first half sailed well over the bar and was as close as the Newcastle winger came to having a real impact on this game. Struggled otherwise and will need to do more to make his case for regular minutes when Kane returns.
Substitutes
Noni Madueke (Saka, ’52) – 6
Ollie Watkins (Gordon, ’60) – 6
Dominic Solanke (Foden, ’72) – 5
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