In a disappointing turn of events, England suffered their first-ever defeat to Greece at Wembley, with Manchester City defender John Stones expressing his frustration over the performance in the Nations League clash.
Stones, who captained the Three Lions in Harry Kane’s absence, lamented that his team was outplayed, stating, “Absolutely gutted. It’s hard to put into words.” The match saw Vangelis Pavlidis score for Greece in the second half, and although Jude Bellingham equalized late on, Pavlidis struck again to seal a 2-1 victory for Greece, marking their first win against England.
“It was disappointing from us,” Stones remarked, acknowledging the Greek side’s dominance. “We prepared how we normally do, but they put us right under pressure from the start. We struggled to play out from the back.”
The defeat leaves England three points behind Greece in League B Group 2 as they reach the halfway point of the competition. “As Lee [Carsley] said to us, we’ve got to deliver, put the onus on ourselves, and we didn’t,” Stones added. “We didn’t create enough chances or win enough second balls. I’m not happy with the defensive lapses leading to counter-attacks. There was a lot riding on this for me and the lads. We could’ve topped the group, and now we need to reassess and move forward.”
England’s lack of a recognized striker was evident, but Carsley remains open to using a false nine in the future despite the disappointing result. “We were second-best for a lot of tonight, and it’s disappointing,” he reflected. “We tried to overload the midfield and experiment, but it didn’t come off. It’s unrealistic to expect too much too soon, and we’ll have to regroup. All the goals were from mistakes, which is disheartening.”
Looking ahead, Carsley emphasized the importance of resilience in the face of setbacks, saying, “It’s vital we respond. When you have someone of Kane’s quality, it changes the dynamics, but in the future, we need the courage to try new strategies. My focus is on getting the team ready for the upcoming camps.”
Next, England will face Finland, who are still searching for their first win in this edition of the competition after a defeat to the Republic of Ireland.
