Curtis Jones’ brilliant backheel on his debut helped England win 3-0 against Greece to move top of Group B2 in the Nations League.
Lee Carsley’s men exacted revenge in Athens having been defeated 2-1 by Greece at Wembley. The result sees England overtake their opponents on goal difference with 12 points each.
England got off the mark quickly as Noni Madueke burst down the right wing, beating four players to the byline, before cutting back for Ollie Watkins to slot home from close range in the seventh minute.
Jordan Pickford was called into action to keep the scores level, first tipping over Kostas Tsimikas’ stinging shot before denying Fotis Ioannidis' effort from range after the break.
While Jude Bellingham hit the left post with a header from a corner not long into the second half, England would have to wait until the 77th minute to celebrate their second.
Bellingham was the instigator once more as he latched on to a first-time pass from debutant Morgan Rogers to charge in from the left and drive a low shot onto the left post.
The ball rebounded onto the trailing leg of the diving Odysseas Vlachodimos, who could not scramble back in time to prevent an own goal.
Jones completed the rout six minutes later as he latched onto Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross from the right to send an audacious backheel past Vlachodimos.
Data Debrief: Debut delight for Jones
Jones is the first Liverpool player to score on his England debut since Sammy Lee back in November 1982, also in an away game against Greece.
He is the ninth Jones to play for England, after Alf, Bill, Harry, Herbert, Mick, Phil, Rob and William. The only surname to provide more England players is Smith (20).
There were also debuts for Lewis Hall and Morgan Rogers. The latter became the 63rd player to make their England debut while with Aston Villa. It’s the first time they've had two in the same year (Ezri Konsa and Rogers) since 2007 (Scott Carson and Ashley Young).
At 20 years and 67 days, Hall became the youngest Newcastle United player to appear for England in a competitive international since Jock Rutherford in April 1904 against Scotland in a Home Nations match (19 years and 180 days).
St. Jago, Eltham, STATHS and Wolmer’s through to Walker Cup final four
St. Jago High, Eltham High, STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys all advanced to the semi-finals of the Walker Cup knockout tournament after quarter-final wins on Thursday.
St. Jago booked their spot in the last four after a 3-2 win over Calabar High at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
St. Jago took an early lead before Calabar equalized in the 45th minute through Kevaun Campbell. St. Jago retook the lead five minutes into the second half through Richardo Lewis before Seon Cato made it 3-1 in the 74th minute.
Calabar got a consolation goal through Sheldon Pusey eight minutes from full time but it wasn’t enough.
In the second game of the double header at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Wolmer’s Boys got the better of St. George’s College 2-1.
Elsewhere, STATHS got a comfortable 3-0 win over Charlie Smith at Calabar to advance while Eltham beat Jonathan Grant 3-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to make it through.
Venezuela 1-1 Brazil: Super sub Segovia holds Selecao to shock draw
Substitute Telasco Segovia delivered the pivotal goal that saw 10-man Venezuela hold Brazil to a 1-1 draw in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.
The shock result leaves Brazil in third place, trailing second-placed Colombia by two points and far short of Argentina in first.
Brazil opened the scoring just before half-time as Raphinha curled a delightful free-kick over the Venezuela wall from 20 yards out to break the deadlock.
On the other side of the break, however, half-time substitute Segovia equalised just 41 seconds after the restart, striking from outside the box, having run onto Jefferson Savarino’s short lay-off.
The visitors were provided with a prime opportunity to restore their lead when Rafael Romo fouled Vinicius Junior in the box. But the Real Madrid forward was unable to capitalise on the resulting penalty, seeing his initial effort saved before firing the rebound wide.
As tensions rose, the game delivered further drama as Alexander Gonzalez received his marching orders in the 89th minute for lashing out at Vinicius after fouling Gabriel Martinelli.
In a farcical ending to the lively affair, sprinklers popped up in the pitch in added time to delay proceedings, but neither side could find a way through.
Data Debrief: Instant impact for super sub Segovia
Segovia's goal, 41 seconds after coming on, is the fastest for a player coming off the bench in the last three editions of the South American World Cup Qualifiers.
Venezuela have now scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only Brazil (four) and Colombia (four) have scored more in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
Kelleher repays Ireland trust in Finland victory
Republic of Ireland winger Mikey Johnston said the team had always trusted Caoimhin Kelleher after he made a crucial penalty save in their 1-0 Nations League win over Finland.
Johnston's corner set up Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson for the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time, after Finland had twice been denied by the woodwork.
The visitors had a golden chance to level in the second half, but Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher made a stunning save to deny Joel Pohjanpalo from 12 yards following a handball from Ferguson.
The result means Finland are relegated from Group B2, while Ireland must come through a play-off to remain in the competition's second tier.
Speaking after the game, Johnston credited Kelleher's all-important penalty save, saying: "I always trust him to go and save a penalty. He has reacted really well and stepped up in a big moment.
"We were aiming for the win. They had moments but there were a few chances we could have taken as well.
"We're happy that we've come away with the win. Sometimes in the last year we would have been on the other side of a bit of bad luck."
Ireland round off their campaign against England on Sunday, in Lee Carsley's final game in charge of the Three Lions before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins in January.
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