THURSDAY 10th October saw Greece beat England for the first time in history, after Greek international and former Sheffield United defender George Baldock passed away on Wednesday.
Wembley stadium played host to Nations League football on Thursday as England Manager Lee Carsley took charge of his third game.
However it was a miracle that the game went ahead, after the tragic passing of Greek international defender George Baldock passed away in Greece on Wednesday 9th October, after he drowned in his swimming pool at his Athens home.
The Greece squad, and in particular midfielder Dimitrios Pelkas, were pushing for the game to be postponed.
When asked about the matter, the Istanbul Basaksehir midfielder said; “We give this win to him. When these things happen in life, football is the second part. The most important thing is that our friend George passed away.”
A tribute was paid before kick-off for the former Blades defender, as UEFA couldn’t re-arrange the fixture, so the Greek side honoured their former team-mate the only way they could; by beating England.
Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis opened the scoring in the capital with his strike minutes after the start of the second half.
England fans thought their team had rescued a point, after Jude Bellingham’s 87th minute equaliser levelled the game.
However, the game wasn’t over yet, and Pavlidis struck once again. After the ball was scrambled around the box, Pavlidis picked it up and fired hard and low past Jordan Pickford in the England goal.
After the game, the Greece players paid an emotional tribute to their late team-mate and friend, with some players in tears and other parading round with his shirt.
Overall, an emotional game, and one in which meant a lot to the players, and one that saw a fitting result for the away side.
It’s Lee Carsley’s first loss as England, as they face Finland in the Nations League this Sunday.
