Greece records historic win over England, hands Lee Carsley a reality check | Nations League

Maybe that's what happens when you play all the funny guys. Lee Carsley made up his England starting XI with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer in the central areas, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon on the wings; The dial turned furiously to attack.

It was an inspiring team, the kind so many England fans wanted. And for a very long time it was chaos. England lacked control in midfield and their defense was porous, while Greece penetrated them with increasing regularity.

Nobody could say that Vangelis Pavlidis' goal in the 49th minute had not been announced, and as the second half progressed, Greece seemed the most likely scorer of the next goal. They failed when Pavlidis touched the ball after another clever move from the team, the VAR recognized he was offside, and it wasn't the only time Greece had a goal disallowed.

The advantage of having so many game-winning players on the pitch is that there is always a chance, even when everything looks lost – in this case especially the team. Carsley had thrown to Ollie Watkins and as he came back from the baseline, Bellingham ran to the ball and sent home a fierce curler from the edge of the penalty area.

However, Greece was not denied a historic first victory over England. Pavlidis was the hero until the end, firing the ball into the goal after the English defense was in terrible disarray – and it was far from the first time.

Carsley said Wednesday that these days he often spends five or six minutes at the start of a game figuring out the formations of the teams he's watching. The spectators did the same here with his line-up, which was characterized by boldness and an extreme level of fluidity.

The pre-game hype had considered the possibility that Carsley Bellingham would play as a false nine, which he did. It was clear from the start that he had also asked Foden to take on a central attacking role. Behind him, Declan Rice stayed in midfield while Palmer had license to push forward. Call it a 4-2-4, with asterisks.

Trent Alexander-Arnold moved forward and into midfield as a right-back – sometimes in an inside-forward position – while Rico Lewis was focused on the attack as a left-back. It was all a bit of a blur, the cohesion was largely elusive in the first half. Worse still, England were open at the back and vulnerable to Greece's counterattacks, of which there were many. Carsley's team were fortunate not to concede a goal until midway through the first period and the thought arose that better opponents might have punished them.

Greece had great regrets in the tenth minute. Jordan Pickford left his penalty area to try and initiate a move, but he couldn't see a pass and the longer he hesitated, the more trouble he invited. When he was robbed, Tasos Bakasetas lobbed into the empty net and only a spectacular goal-line clearance by the retreating Levi Colwill saved England.

Carsley's team were rewarded as they used a high press to panic and make mistakes in Greece. Further up the pitch, however, the visitors had good possession of the ball, played neat triangles and had further chances in this early phase.

Pavlidis rolled wide after Bellingham went down too easily and Greece moved the length of the field. Konstantinos Mavropanos had the ball in the net after a Pickford flap following a corner, but was pulled back for offside; Pickford was a happy boy. And Bakasetas would use the goalkeeper if he was well placed.

England had their own chances before the break, the big chance coming in the 23rd minute when Bellingham ran into the deficit before executing an impressive drag-back to throw his defender before beating down the unmarked Palmer. It was the moment the Chelsea player would have dreamed of. Incredibly, he lifted himself up.

Palmer had taken an aerial blast early on and there was also the moment when he directed a free kick wide of the goal. Bellingham was able to point to a curler from the edge of the box that forced Odysseas Vlachodimos to tip over, while Anthony Gordon headed high from Alexander-Arnold's cross.

The prevailing impression from the first half was that Carsley needed to find clarity.

The traveling fans believed a goal would be scored, one in honor of George Baldock, the England-born Greece international who drowned in the swimming pool at his home in Athens on Wednesday. The tragedy shocked everyone associated with the Greek team and the celebration went to Baldock when Pavlidis scored.

Lazaros Rota saw John Stones' shot blocked after he sneaked into space. Now Pavlidis took the ball in the penalty area, many England jerseys around him, but no one was able to meet the challenge. Stones was closest, but Pavlidis was too sweet for him and plotted an unerring course to the finish.

England looked confused. Rice was booked for a late tackle on Manolis Siopis after escaping with a tackle on Dimitrios Kourbelis in the first half, and there was even more alarm when Konstantinos Koulierakis came around behind and headed in a corner. Bellingham clarified. What was going on?

Carsley lost Saka to injury, Noni Madueke came into the game and he took drastic action after the hour, subbing in Watkins for Gordon and switching to 4-2-3-1, with Palmer moving to the right.

Watkins almost scored with his first touch, shooting high from a pass from Palmer, but after that it was almost all Greece.

A draw would have been difficult for them to accept. Their first win over England was fully deserved.