Greece 0-3 England
Jarrod Bowen started the game on the bench for England as interim boss Lee Carsley took charge of the Three Lions for a must-win Nations League game away to Greece. Carsley made the bold decision to drop captain Harry Kane, opting instead to start Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, who justified the choice with an early goal.
West Ham’s Konstantinos Mavropanos will be disappointed that Watkins slipped by him for England’s opener, though he otherwise performed well. England had the better of the first half, with Jude Bellingham looking much improved, while Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke were particularly impressive.
However, captain Kyle Walker appeared to have the irritating habit of passing backward when England had opportunities to press forward from good positions.
Mavropanos was called into action again early in the second half, skilfully switching feet as Anthony Gordon closed him down at high speed.
Bellingham hit the post as Greece pressed aggressively following a flurry of substitutions. The overly fussy referee, keen to be the centre of attention, refused to let the game flow, punishing minor offenses while ignoring dangerous tackles—a bizarre performance from the German official.
West Ham captain Bowen entered as part of a triple substitution in the 65th minute alongside Harry Kane and Morgan Rogers. Bowen may have felt like he was at the London Stadium, spending his first 10 minutes defending as Jordan Pickford earned man of the match consideration with a series of saves.
England quality shines through
Bellingham eventually made it 2-0 following a neat flick from Rogers. The Madrid midfielder may not be credited with the goal, which took a big deflection off Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Bowen made his mark in the 82nd minute, sending a through ball to Morgan Gibbs-White, who set up Curtis Jones to score with a sublime flick. Bowen then got involved again, playing in Harry Kane, who failed to return the pass and was dispossessed.
Overall, it was an excellent result for England, and Bowen’s promising performance may earn him another run-out against Ireland next week
