Ahead of Thursday’s Nations League clash between England and Greece, Sports Mole looks at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two clubs.
Top spot and a three-point lead in League B Group 2 of the UEFA Nations League is up for grabs on Thursday, as England and Greece scrap it out at Wembley Stadium.
Both sides have made impeccable starts to life under new management, as Lee Carsley masterminded a pair of 2-0 wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland during his first two games in interim charge last month.
However, Greece are currently ahead of the Three Lions at the summit of the four-nation standings, as Ivan Jovanovic‘s side put three unanswered goals past Finland before their own 2-0 beating of Ireland in September.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 9
England wins: 7
Draws: 2
Greece wins: 0
Greece may have something that the England senior men’s team do not – a European Championship trophy – but the Pirate Ship have failed to conquer the 2020 and 2024 runners-up in nine previous attempts.
Indeed, England have prevailed on seven occasions against Greece while playing out another two draws with 2004 continental champions, and seven of those games have also seen the Three Lions keep a clean sheet.
Thursday’s Nations League contest will be the first England-Greece reunion in just over 18 years, though, as the two League B sides have not locked horns since a Steve McLaren-led side eased to a 4-0 friendly victory in 2006.
Peter Crouch scored a brace at Old Trafford that day, where Chelsea legends Frank Lampard and John Terry also made the net bulge in a first-half whitewash, as England scored all of their goals before the 42-minute mark.
The Theatre of Dreams was also the venue for the most iconic moment in England-Greece football history – and one of the most memorable overall for the Three Lions in the 21st century – as Sven-Goran Eriksson‘s side were heading for a 2-1 defeat in a 2001 World Cup qualifier.
That was until David Beckham lined up a free kick some 25 yards from goal in injury time, aimed for the top corner and found it with absolute aplomb, thereby guaranteeing England first place in the group over Germany on goal difference and sealing direct entry to the 2002 World Cup.
Earlier in that qualifying cycle, Beckham was also on target alongside Paul Scholes in a 2-0 win in Athens, and the only other time that England have conceded a goal to Greece came in a 1989 friendly, where Dimitrios Saravakos scored a penalty inside the first minute.
Replies from John Barnes and Bryan Robson turned that game on its head, but England have only won one of their three competitive home games against Greece – a 3-0 triumph during their inaugural showdown in a 1971 European Championships qualifier.
Previous meetings:
Aug 16, 2006: England 4-0 Greece (International Friendly)
Oct 06, 2001: England 2-2 Greece (World Cup Qualifying)
Jun 06, 2001: Greece 0-2 England (World Cup Qualifying)
May 17, 1994: England 5-0 Greece (International Friendly)
Feb 08, 1989: Greece 1-2 England (International Friendly)
Mar 30, 1983: England 0-0 Greece (European Championship Qualifying)
Nov 17, 1982: Greece 0-3 England (European Championship Qualifying)
Dec 01, 1971: Greece 0-2 England (European Championship Qualifying)
Apr 21, 1971: England 3-0 Greece (European Championship Qualifying)
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