England and Greece Play to a Draw
Jones Scores for England
England 1 Greece 1
On Thursday, England and Greece played to a 1-1 draw. Playing in front of a full house at Wembley, England got on the board first courtesy of a Curtis Jones backheel goal. Greece’s Tasos Bakasetas evened things up with a free kick goal midway through the second half.
England started the match brightly and took the lead in the 15th minute through Curtis Jones. The Liverpool midfielder showed great skill to control a long pass from Jordan Henderson before backheeling the ball past Greece goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos.
Greece grew into the game as the half went on and had a few chances to equalize, but England goalkeeper Nick Pope was in fine form to deny them. The visitors did eventually get their equalizer in the 68th minute when Bakasetas curled a free kick into the top corner.
Both teams pushed for a winner in the closing stages, but neither could find a breakthrough. The draw leaves England top of Group C with four points from their two matches, while Greece is bottom with one point.
What does this mean for England?
The draw means that England is now unbeaten in their last seven matches. They have also only conceded one goal in that time. This will give them confidence going into their next match against Italy on Sunday.
What does this mean for Greece?
The draw keeps Greece’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive. They will need to beat Italy in their final group match to have any chance of progressing.
Expert Analysis
Former England international Owen Hargreaves said: “It was a good performance from England. They controlled the game for large periods and created some good chances. They will be disappointed not to have won, but they can take confidence from this performance going into their next match.”
Former Greece international Giorgos Karagounis said: “Greece showed great character to come back from a goal down. They defended well and created some good chances of their own. They will be disappointed not to have won, but they can take heart from this performance going into their next match.”
