England Greece Nations League preview
England needs to win or it faces another campaign in Group B
High-flying Greece takes on England in the Nations League as they look to win consecutive games against them after a previous 2-1 win at Wembley.
Greece were the much better side when they faced previously and although Bellingham managed to score an equaliser late on, Pavlidis later scored his 2nd of the game to secure the win. The deflated England side struggled to pose much of a threat and Greece could’ve easily won by more.
Have a look at this Rant Sports preview of England v. Greece.
England Greece: Greeks have new additions to the squad
Fotis Ioannidis is back fit so he may have a role to play off the bench. Pavlidis will almost certainly start though as he’s their standout striker option.
The headline addition to the squad is 17-year-old Christos Mouzakitis who has become a regular for Olympiacos’ first team this season despite Greek clubs not usually trusting youth Greek talent. Mouzakitis, however, has shone in both the league and Europa League.
Christos Tzolis has also been in excellent form for Club Brugge this season too and will be a dangerous threat for England on transitions.
In defence, the 6’6” duo Konstantinos Mavropanos and Konstantios Koulierakis will be the starting centre-backs. They’re two ball-playing, aerially dominant, athletic defenders who should be a regular partnership for many years to come.
In goal, Odysseaas Vlachodimos has only played once for Newcastle United this season since joining from Nottingham Forest. This appearance came in a 1-0 win in the Carabao Cup against Wimbledon. Although he’s not first choice for Newcastle, he’s not likely to lose his #1 spot for Greece any time soon.
England have a makeshift squad
Eight players ave dropped out of the squad due to injuries: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, Aaron Ramsdale and Levi Colwill.
With this in mind, there are some new faces in the England squad who could make their first ever appearances: Newcastle duo Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
In goal, Pickford is almost certain to start despite good seasons from both Nick Pope and Dean Henderson. In defence, there’s likely to be a big rotation with players missing. Lewis Hall could possibly start at left-back with Rico Lewis or Tino Livramento at right-back. Kyle Walker is in the squad, but the other options have been much better than him this season and deserve to play. In the centre of defence, Stones and Guehi are the obvious choice, but Ezi Konsa could too.
New Midfield for England
There’s likely to be a whole new midfield compared to when these sides last met. Carsley played Saka, Palmer, Gordon, Foden, Bellingham and Rice but all were disappointing. Out of these, only Gordon and Bellingham are still in the squad so it provides opportunities for other players to step up in their absence to make the squad.
Curtis Jones has been in great form for Liverpool and previously for England’s U21’s under Lee Carsley, Jones started in midfield next to Angel Gomes. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see these 2 next to each other again, with Bellingham ahead, Gordon on the left wing and Madueke on the right wing. Apart from Bellingham, these all played together in Carsley’s U21’s European Championship winning side so there already a good understanding of the role Carsley will require from them all.
Up front, it’s almost definitely going to be Harry Kane. But Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke could both feature off the bench too.
