England continued their push for Nations League promotion with a commanding 3-0 victory over Greece on Thursday, despite controversy surrounding Harry Kane's recent comments on team withdrawals.
Kane, who had been vocal in his criticism of players pulling out of the squad, was left out by interim manager Lee Carsley, who made the surprising decision to bench the England captain for the first 66 minutes of the match. Kane had previously stated that international duty should "come before anything" amid speculation that club managers had influenced the withdrawals, prompting some players to avoid the fixture to protect themselves from injury during a busy season.
Several players, including Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Levi Colwill, Aaron Ramsdale, and Jarrad Branthwaite, all opted to pull out of the squad, creating a challenging situation for Carsley.
Despite the absentees, England's squad showed resilience, with Ollie Watkins stepping up in Kane's absence. Watkins opened the scoring in the seventh minute at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, finishing off a pass from Noni Madueke. Greece's goalkeeper, Odysseas Vlachodimos, then scored an own goal in the 29th minute to give England a two-goal lead. Curtis Jones, marking his first start for the national team, sealed the victory with a third goal in the 83rd minute.
The win pushed England ahead of Greece on goal difference, leaving them in control of their promotion prospects in Nations League Group B2. A win against Ireland at Wembley on Sunday would guarantee their promotion to Nations League A. Should England finish second in the group, they would enter a promotion play-off against one of the third-placed teams from League A.
The match also drew attention to Thomas Tuchel, the incoming England manager who was absent from the game in Athens. Tuchel, who is set to take over from Gareth Southgate on January 1, has yet to begin his tenure, raising questions about why the German coach was not already in charge ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
England's performance was an encouraging sign for Tuchel, with the team's depth on display as they avenged their first-ever defeat to Greece, which took place at Wembley last October. Watkins, who had replaced Kane in the starting lineup, justified his inclusion with a well-taken goal. Madueke, in particular, impressed with his creativity and was involved in several key moments, including setting up Rico Lewis for a shot on goal.
Although Greece had some chances, with Kostas Tsimikas forcing a save from Jordan Pickford and Fotis Ioannidis seeing a close-range effort denied by the England goalkeeper, it was England who finished strongly. Jude Bellingham struck the post with a header before scoring a stunning long-range goal that rebounded off Vlachodimos into the net. Jones capped off the victory with a clever flick to score England's third goal.
England now look ahead to their crucial match against Ireland, knowing that their Nations League fate is in their own hands.
