Greece vs England preview, H2H, team news, key players, line-ups and prediction

England will look to avenge their disappointing loss to Greece at Wembley when they travel to Athens to take on the group 2 leaders in the UEFA Nations League.

Despite advancing to the Euro 2024 final, England’s year has been marred by inconsistent results. They have won seven out of 15 matches across competitions, three of those victories in the UEFA Nations League, yet they’ve also suffered four losses — three of them on home turf. One of these defeats was against Greece, leaving England three points behind their rivals.

In a shock result, England fell 2-1 to Greece at Wembley last month, as Vangelis Pavlidis scored twice, including a dramatic winner in the 94th minute.

Thursday’s clash with Greece marks England’s first match since appointing Thomas Tuchel as their new head coach. Unveiled on October 16, Tuchel becomes the third foreign manager in the country’s history and has signed an 18-month contract to succeed Gareth Southgate.

However, the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea head coach will not officially take charge until January, meaning Lee Carsley will oversee the squad for their last two Nations League games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland this month.

Following their defeat by Greece, the Three Lions responded with a solid 3-1 win over Finland in Helsinki, keeping their League B promotion hopes alive and achieving a new national team record. While their Nations League hopes hang in the balance, fans are already eyeing World Cup 2026 tickets as England are putting in place preparations for the tournament with the game against Greece seen as another stepping stone towards success.

Currently ranked fourth globally by FIFA, England stand second in their Nations League group, trailing Greece by three points. A win by two goals or more on Thursday would move them to the top of the table on goal difference, with one match left to play.

Few expected Greece to prevail during their trip to Wembley last month, but Ivan Jovanovic’s squad proved otherwise. Greece has maintained a flawless record in the UEFA Nations League this year, claiming victory in all four of their matches. Since a narrow 2-1 loss to Germany in June, they’ve racked up five straight wins, remaining unbeaten in five home fixtures—including a late 2023 draw with France.

In a stirring night at Wembley, Greece achieved their first-ever win against England on their 10th attempt, following back-to-back shutouts over Finland and Ireland. This historic victory was marked by an emotional tribute to George Baldock, a 12-cap international who recently passed away at 31.

Returning to home turf just three days later, Greece maintained their flawless League B record with a 2-0 victory over Ireland, thanks to second-half goals from Anastasios Bakasetas and Petros Mantalos.

Jovanovic’s squad heads into the upcoming clash against the Three Lions with confidence, buoyed by a formidable home record in the Nations League—eight wins and two draws in their last 11 home games, along with nine clean sheets.

Their defence has been nearly impenetrable, having netted nine goals while conceding only one, putting Greece on the brink of achieving their first-ever promotion to League A if they beat England on Thursday.

Greece Vs England match details

• Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024
• Location: Athens, Greece
• Venue: Spiros Louis Olympic Stadium
• Kick-off time: 07:45 PM GMT
• Referee: Daniel Siebert
• Assistant referees: Jan Seidel, Rafael Foltyn
• Fourth official: Daniel Schlager
• VAR: Bastian Dankert
• Assistant VAR: Benjamin Cortus

Match stats and head-to-head

• Greece have scored at least two goals in their last four UEFA Nations League matches this year.

• The Ethniki are on a five-game unbeaten streak at home in the UEFA Nations League.

• Jude Bellingham’s 87th-minute consolation strike in the reverse fixture is the only goal Ivan Jovanovic’s side has conceded in the competition this year.

• England have won their last two away matches in the UEFA Nations League with a two-goal margin, coming against Finland and Ireland.

• The three Lions have also won all four of their away matches against Greece by an aggregate 9-1 scoreline. Victory against the home side could see them match their previous five-game winning away record against Luxembourg.

• No other country in Europe is currently on a longer winning streak than Greece, who have won five consecutive games and could match their longest winning streak of six matches since 2013 if they beat England on Thursday.

• England are on a seven-match unbeaten streak in away matches, winning five and drawing two. It is their longest unbeaten run away from home since 2015 when Roy Hodgson’s led England side went on a 12-game unbeaten run away from home.

• Since conceding a goal to France in November 2023, Greece have now gone 286 minutes without conceding any goal at home, their longest run at home without conceding since going 617 minutes between February 2012 and October 2013.

• England have lost four matches in 2024, the most games they’ve lost in a calendar year since losing five games in 1981.

Players to look out for

Jude Bellingham — England

While Jude Bellingham may have faced challenges in front of goal for Real Madrid this season, he’s remained a standout performer for England.

The 21-year-old midfielder finally netted his first goal of the season for Los Blancos in his 13th appearance last Saturday and also found the back of the net in England’s earlier match against Greece.

That goal at Wembley marked Bellingham’s sixth for England and his fifth since moving to Champions League holders Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund.

If he scores again this week, Bellingham will equal the record held by David Beckham and Michael Owen for the most England goals while representing Madrid, with six each.

Greece — Fotis Ioannidis

Greece’s talisman, Loannidis is back in the squad after recovering from injury.

Although Pavlidis, who netted twice against England is also in contention to spearhead the attack, Loannidis has been prolific for his country.

Head coach Jovanovic would have a selection headache choosing who should lead the line between the two forwards but Loannidis could be given the nod.

Greece have not lost a game where Ioannidis has scored and they’ve won three and drawn only one of the last four matches where the Panathinaikos forward has scored.

Given that he’s the team’s lucky charm, Jovanovic could opt for the 24-year-old and will hope for a continuation of his team’s unbeaten streak of the forward finding the back of the net.

Team news

Defensive midfielder, Dimitrios Kourbelis will miss the upcoming match as he serves a one-game suspension for accumulating yellow cards.

Odysseas Vlachodimos may have seen limited action at Newcastle United this season, but he remains Greece’s first-choice goalkeeper and is likely to start on Thursday.

Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas and West Ham United’s Konstantinos Mavropanos are also in contention to feature in the Greek defence.

Following his two goals against England in the previous encounter, Vangelis Pavlidis will likely retain his spot up front. However, Fotis Ioannidis, who netted three times in Greece’s first two Nations League matches, has returned to the squad post-injury and may provide an additional option in attack.

England’s squad has been hit by withdrawals. At the time of writing, several players including Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, and Aaron Ramsdale have all pulled out.

In their place, Morgan Rogers, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Lewis Hall have earned their first senior call-ups, and Jarrod Bowen, Jarrad Branthwaite, Valentino Livramento, and James Trafford were also called up as replacements for the injured players.

Predicted starting lineup

Greece predicted starting lineup:

Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas; Siopis, Mantalos; Masouras, Bakasetas, Tzolis; Loannidis.

England predicted starting lineup:

Pickford; Livramento, Konsa, Guehi, Hall; Gomes, Gallagher; Bellingham, Bowen, Gordon; Kane.

Prediction

England head to this game at the back of a seven-game unbeaten run in away matches against a Greek side that are on a five-game winning run at home.

While the Three Lions will be out for revenge, Greece are not expected to back down from the contest, especially with their passionate home supporters behind them.

A win with a two-goal margin will propel them to the top of the table and Lee Carsley will look to finish his penultimate game in charge on a high.

We’re predicting a 2-1 win for England.