No case for the defence as Greece stun experimental England
· CNA · JoinLONDON : The obvious reaction to England's shock 2-1 defeat by Greece on Thursday would be to blame the radical selection of stand-in coach Lee Carsley, but the key moments came not in the crowded midfield but when England had numbers galore at the back.
Vangelis Pavlidis scored both Greece goals, the second in stoppage time, despite being surrounded by defenders on both occasions.
Tentative or non-existent tackling together with disorganisation that left players colliding and in a heap on the floor opened the way as Pavlidis showed neat control to secure Greece's first ever win over England.
It could have been worse with VAR ruling out two more Greek goals for offside as England were repeatedly exposed at the back, only for Jude Bellingham's 87th-minute equaliser briefly looking to have earned a flattering point for the Euro 2024 finalists.
In the absence of the injured Harry Kane, Carsley opted to play without a striker and crammed in England's wealth of midfield talent in the shape of Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Phil Foden.
It did not work as they struggled to turn possession into chances in a first half as Declan Rice was fighting fires as the only midfielder with any defensive responsibilities.
Carsley changed tack in the second half, bringing on forwards Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke, and England looked better balanced in attack.
After Bellingham's long-range strike they pushed forward seeking the win but were instead caught out, with centre back Levi Colwill having a nightmare as he failed with three opportunities to clear before Pavlidis drove home the winner.
SECOND BEST
Carsley, who oversaw wins over Ireland and Finland after stepping in as caretaker when Gareth Southgate stood down, accepted that England were second best.
"We tried something different with the formation and tried to overload the midfield," he said. "We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday, we experimented and are disappointed it didn't come off. But we never really gave ourselves the chance to see if it was the right or wrong decision.
"All the goals were from mistakes, which is disappointing. Even at 1-1 we were quite fortunate."
Asked if he would stick with the new approach in the game in Finland on Sunday, he said: "It is definitely an option going forward. When you have someone of Kane's quality though, it rules it out when he is available. But in the future you have to have the courage and ability to try things."
It was a doubly disappointing night for John Stones, captaining his country for the first time, but finding himself struggling to keep Greece's confident attackers at bay more often than his usual role of strolling freely and building attacks.
"On a personal note, I'm absolutely gutted to have a result like that with the armband for the first time," he said.
"We prepared like we normally do and it didn't come off. From the start they put us right under pressure. They were very compact. We know the system as players and when we are out there as players we have to deliver. The onus is on us to deliver - and we didn't."
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