England took control of their Nations League fate by producing their best performance under Lee Carsley to beat Greece in Athens.
The Three Lions lost 2-1 to Greece at Wembley last month to surrender top spot in Group B2, but are now back on top and know that victory over the Republic of Ireland on Sunday will seal their return to the elite level of the competition.
England fans had just seven minutes to get used to Harry Kane being on the bench when Ollie Watkins punctured the narrative by turning home Noni Madueke's cross from close range. Jordan Pickford had to be alert to save Kostas Tsimikas' powerful shot at the near post before Jude Bellingham spurned a promising opening.
The away side maintained their dominance after the break, dealing well with the raucous atmosphere and lasers aimed at their faces, as Rico Lewis forced an instinctive save from Odysseas Vlachodimos before Bellingham struck the post with a flicked header. Pickford made a superb save to deny Fotis Ioannidis as England stood firm under some pressure.
Pickford's interventions allowed England to go 2-0 up on the counter-attack when Bellingham's shot cannoned off the post, hit Vlachodimos and made it over the line. England's substitutes then made a difference as Jarrod Bowen and Morgan Gibbs-White combined to set up a stunning flick from debutant Curtis Jones to make the points safe. Here are the talking points from Athens.
1. Watkins justifies Carsley call
Carsley's decision to start Watkins over Kane was a big one which could easily have backfired. "It was important to give Ollie Watkins an opportunity,” he told ITV before kick-off. “To experience a night like this will be great for himself. This team needs to try and create leaders and one way to do that is give them opportunities."
But Watkins has proven himself to be a good alternative to England's record goal scorer - most fans don't need reminding about his late goal to down the Netherlands in the semi-final of Euro 2024 - and he didn't waste time in showing his poacher instincts in Athens.
In truth the opener owed much more to Jude Bellingham's vision to release Madueke and the Chelsea winger's intelligent movement and calmness to pick an unmarked Watkins out on the edge of the six-yard box. The Aston Villa striker could hardly miss and he now has six goals in 19 England appearances, but it could've been seven had he not lost sight of the ball while running clear just before the half-time whistle.
2. Walker's leadership
With Kane on the bench, the captain's armband went to Kyle Walker, who was by far and a way the most experienced player on the field for England. Interviewed before kick-off, Walker admitted he was surprised by Kane being dropped and suggested that Jude Bellingham needed to step up in his absence.
The Manchester City right-back was very vocal on the pitch, with one moment summing up his approach. After a slow start, Greece found their feet midway through the first half, combining nicely down their left-hand side. Liverpool left-back Tsimikas received a pass on an underlap and tested Pickford at his near post.
The immediate aftermath saw Walker turn and shout at Madueke, who had failed to track Tsimikas back into his own box. Pickford was seen organising the troops with his booming voice before Walker was forced to chat to card-happy referee Daniel Siebert after the England goalkeeper was booked for time-wasting after just 27 minutes.
3. Bellingham has his swagger back
After an absurdly good debut campaign at Real Madrid last season, Bellingham has experienced a drop off in performance level in 2024/25. His first La Liga goal of the season only came on the weekend against Osasuna and criticism has been rife in Spain, with Real fans hardly the most patient.
Ian Wright made a good point while on punditry duty for ITV at half-time. He suggested that Watkins starting over Kane had benefited Bellingham, who is given more space to exploit in the No.10 position because the Villa man looks to run in behind and stretch the defence, whereas Kane likes to drop into midfield and join the build-up.
Whether that was the reason behind his improved performance, or something simpler, there was no doubt that Bellingham looked back near his best in an England shirt. His trademark swagger was back as he drifted all over the pitch and linked play before forcing in the second goal, via a fortuitous ricochet.
4. Pickford stands up tall
The lack of big-game experience in England's starting line-up was chiefly caused by the large numbers of unavailable players, with Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Luke Shaw all absent. The presence of Walker and Pickford was therefore particularly important - and the England goalkeeper had one of his better nights for his country.
He was commanding at the back for England, doing everything you want from your goalkeeper: saving shots, claiming crosses, sprinting out to clean up danger and shouting instructions to his team-mates. His save from Ioannidis when the game was in the balance in the second half was his best moment - he charged out, closed down the angle and read the shot perfectly to parry it wide.
5. Carsley's clear influence
Carsley has made his love for the England under-21s job clear over the past few months, insisting he would be delighted to return to the role after the interim role finishes. And regardless of whether England complete the job in the Nations League against Ireland, the Three Lions owe him a lot, with his influence obvious on Thursday night.
The former Birmingham midfielder clearly has favourite players - and many of them were on show in Athens. Madueke, Marc Guehi, Anthony Gordon, Rico Lewis, Curtis Jones, Conor Gallagher, Morgan Rogers and Lewis Hall are all alumni of the under-21s and all showed they can contribute at this level.
Madueke was the stand-out performer early on, providing England's biggest threat down the right, but Jones was just as impressive, helping the away side play through the press and capping his performance with a fantastic improvised finish.
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