England comfortably defeated Greece 3-0 in their Nations League encounter on Thursday, propelling them to the top of Group B2 and setting up a thrilling final matchday against Ireland with promotion at stake.
The victory was powered by goals from Ollie Watkins, an own goal from the Greeks, and a late flick from Curtis Jones on his debut. With 12 points from five matches, England now leads Greece on goal difference, after the Greeks had defeated England 2-1 in London last month.
Watkins opened the scoring in the 7th minute, tapping in from close range after a clever cutback from Noni Madueke, who was making his first England start. Despite missing key players such as Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, and Trent Alexander-Arnold—all sidelined due to injury—England looked solid, soaking up pressure from the Greeks in the second half.
In the 78th minute, Jude Bellingham made it 2-0 for England, with his shot bouncing off the post and then ricocheting off Greece goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos for an unfortunate own goal.
Just four minutes later, Jones sealed the win with a cheeky flick to make it 3-0, completing a dominant performance from England as they secured all three points.
The victory moved England into first place in the group, while Greece now sit second after their first loss of the campaign. Greece will travel to Finland for their final match, with the top team in the group earning promotion to League A, and the second-placed team entering a playoff for promotion.
England’s final game is against Ireland on Sunday, with promotion to League A hanging in the balance.