If the UEFA Nations League has meaningful stakes for a team like England it should become apparent on Thursday night in Athens. After all, if the Three Lions are to avoid a potential promotion playoff in the summer of 2025 and progress straight back to the top tier of the Nations League, they simply must win away to Greece. Such is the cost of a shock 2-1 defeat to Ivan Jovanovic’s side at Wembley last month.
Several days later the FA confirmed that Thomas Tuchel would take on the England job in the new year, leaving Lee Carsley to steward a much-weakened squad for two final matches where only six points will assure them of promotion. Even that might require a two-goal winning margin. For the Greeks, the equation is altogether simpler. Avoid defeat and they are promoted to Europe’s big leagues. Here is how you can watch the match and what you need to know:
Viewing information
- Date: Thursday, Nov. 13 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
- Location: Olympic Stadium — Athens
- TV: Fox Sports 1 | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
- Odds: Greece +33; Draw +230; England -120
Team news
Greece: Victorious in all four games he has coached with his side having scored nine and conceded just one, Jovanovic will surely be reluctant to tinker with a formula that has delivered great success so far for a Greek side chasing their first tournament berth since 2014. Promotion to the Nations League’s top tier wouldn’t guarantee them that but it would offer a good chance of at least getting a playoff spot for World Cup qualifying in 2026.
Dimitrios Kourbelis will serve a one-match suspension for England’s visit but Jovanovic will be able to welcome Fotis Ioannidis, scorer of three goals in their first two Nations League games, back to the squad after he missed the October games. Whether he will take the place of Vangelis Pavlidis, scorer of both goals at Wembley, is debatable, however.
Possible Greece XI: Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas; Zafeiris, Mantalos; Masouras, Bakasetas, Tzolis; Pavlidis
England: The withdrawal of eight senior players, several of them among the Three Lions’ brightest stars, earned a stinging rebuke from captain Harry Kane on Tuesday, the Bayern Munich striker suggesting some players had been “taking advantage” of what will now constitute a down period ahead of one of the toughest runs of fixtures in the club season.
“I think England comes before anything,” Kane told ITV. “It comes before club and it is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer. Gareth [Southgate] was on hot on that and he wasn’t afraid and he wasn’t afraid to make decisions if that started to drift from certain players. It’s a shame this week obviously. Yeah, I think it’s a tough period of the season and maybe that’s been taken advantage of a little bit.
“I don’t really like it if I’m totally honest. I think as I just said there England comes before anything, any club situation. The joy to play for England. I think Gareth brought that back. Every camp, people were excited to come, every camp people wanted to play for England and, yeah, that’s the most important thing.”
Certainly, Lee Carsley’s task will be more challenging without the eight players who withdrew at the start of the week, a group that includes seasoned internationals Declan Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka. Adding to that group, Everton center back Jarrad Branthwaite withdrew on Wednesday having missed training earlier in the week. He was replaced by Jarrell Quansah
Possible England XI: Pickford; Walker, Guehi, Konsa, Hall; Gomes, Jones; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane
Prediction
This certainly won’t be England at their best but with Kane and Bellingham in the XI they should have the firepower to get the job done. PICK: Greece 0, England 2
