- Greece defeated England 2-1 at Wembley on Thursday in a shock defeat for the home side
- A Greek midfielder has now revealed that the team did not want to play the match
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Midfielder Dimitrios Pelkas said Greece did not want to play their Nations League match with England after the death of George Baldock but forced themselves to win in his honour.
Former Sheffield United defender Baldock died aged 31 after drowning in his swimming pool in Athens earlier this week.
There was an outpouring of support from his former clubs, colleagues and opposition who paid tribute to the star in the wake of his tragic passing.
Baldock’s absence made Thursday’s clash at Wembley an extremely emotional affair, which virtually didn’t happen after the Greek team opted not to play the match.
Baldock won 12 caps for Greece after qualifying to represent them through his grandmother and was last involved in their squad for the Euro 2024 play-off defeat to Georgia.
Greece did not want to play their Nations League match with England after the death of George Baldock (photo)
Greek players held up a shirt in his memory with Baldock’s name and number printed on it
Midfielder Dimitrios Pelkas (pictured) revealed that the Greek team did not want to play the match
Greece paid tribute to their teammate in the best possible way as they defeated England for the first time with a stunning 2-1 win at Wembley, with Evangelos Pavlidis scoring an injury-time winner.
Pelkas, who came off the bench, said his team did not want to play but could not postpone the match because there was no room in the calendar to rearrange the match.
‘It’s like this: rules are rules, UEFA doesn’t have a second chance to play this game, so we played today [Thursday]’ he said. ‘We wish him this victory.
“When these things happen in life, football is the second part. The most important thing is that our friend George has passed away.
“We will never forget him, today I was sure that he would be with us from above and that he would celebrate with us and push us to achieve this victory.
England were a shock loser after conceding a Greek winner deep in stoppage time
Baldock only joined Panathinaikos in the summer after starting his venture in the Greek Super League
Baldock previously represented Greece in the Euro 2024 qualifiers last year
‘I don’t want to talk about football yesterday [Wednesday] It was very difficult for all of us, we couldn’t talk, we couldn’t laugh, we couldn’t eat in the hotel.
‘It was a very tough day. I would like to convey my condolences to his family, for them this is the most difficult period.
“It was very difficult, it was one of us, he was an excellent guy, it’s like he was with us from a very young age.”
UEFA has been approached for comment by the PA news agency.