England took a big step closer to winning automatic promotion to the top tier of the Nations League with a strong 3-0 victory over rivals Greece in Athens.
Interim manager Lee Carsley made it four wins out of five for his time in charge and made a bold call in leaving captain Harry Kane on the bench to start the game. His replacement was Ollie Watkins and the decision made off spectacularly. Noni Madueke sprinted down the right and slipped in a pass that Watkins turned home with seven minutes on the clock.
The early breakthrough settled the nerves and England were able to weather a storm from the hosts with Jordan Pickford proving his worth on a busy night between the sticks. In the second half, Carsley made attacking substitutions and replaced the whole front line.
It worked a treat as first Bellingham raced at the defence to score a fortuitious deflected shot from range before Curtis Jones added a third with a dainty flick having been supplied by substitute Morgan Rogers. Three goals and three points puts England top of Group B2 and they need one more win to gain promotion.
Relive the action from the Nations League with our live blog below as England take on Greece:
England’s Ollie Watkins gamble pays off to leave tricky Harry Kane question
In the tale of the captain and the caretaker, Lee Carsley’s great gamble paid off. England managers can be defined by a decision involving a talismanic striker. Graham Taylor ended Gary Lineker’s international career to bring on Alan Smith. Alf Ramsey preferred Geoff Hurst to Jimmy Greaves for a World Cup final. One got it wrong, the other very right.
Lee Carsley reacts to England win
The England interim boss told ITV: “It represents that we are moving in the right direction. We won’t get too carried away, we have a big game on Sunday at Wembley.
“It is just important the players played to their strengths. We have a lot of outstanding talent. The players that weren’t here, we concentrated on the ones who were. They took their opportunity today.
“Curtis Jones is an outstanding player. He played really well, even without his goal. With his goal it was an excellent performance.
“People were speaking last night about the inexperience in the squad but these players are playing for their clubs at a really high level.”
England defeat Greece and top Group B2
Jones on scoring his first England goal
Liverpool’s Curtis Jones made his debut for England tonight and capped off a good performance with his first international goal. After the match he spoke to ITV saying:
“The lads around me helped me. I was playing free and had a smile on my face so I was enjoying it and I came in with a goal as well.
“With a team like ours, I can come high or go low and there’s lads there to help. Jude stayed back and I saw I had a chance. Luckily enough I scored.”
More from Bellingham:
“There would been a million and one excuses if we didn’t play well and didn’t get over the line but lads went out and did their business so professionally. We’re back to the top of the group where we belong.”
Bellingham reacts to England win
Jude Bellingham had a stellar night for England and says he is proud of his teammates. He told ITV: “It was a good win.
“A lot was made of the lads who weren’t here but I think the ones who showed up were amazing. Curtis [Jones] – making his debut, playing as he did and scoring – was amazing. I’m really proud of the boys.”
England player ratings as Noni Madueke and Jude Bellingham shine in crucial win over Greece
However, Greece came back into the game as the first half wore on, with Kostas Tsimikas forcing Jordan Pickford into a good save and the pressure built even further after the break, when it took another superb Pickford stop to deny Fotis Ioannidis.
What does England’s win mean?
Becuase they triumphed tonight, England will win promotion back to League A in the Nations League if they beat the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday.
It also means Thomas Tuchel will start his job on January 1 with just the World Cup qualifiers to focus on instead of a two-legged Nations League play-off.
England top the table
Here’s how Group B2 is shaping up with one game left:
1) England – Played 5, won 4, lost 1, points 12, goal difference +8
2) Greece – Played 5, won 4, lost 1, points 12, goal difference +5
3) Republic of Ireland – Played 5, won 2, lost 3, points 6, goal difference -4
4) Finland – Played 5, won 0, lost 5, points 0, goal difference -9