England were a shapeless mess and outplayed during their 2-1 defeat by Greece – Lee Carsley seemed to be strolling to his coronation as Gareth Southgate’s successor but this was a nasty stumble, writes OLIVER HOLT

As the teams broke from the minute’s silence for George Baldock, the Greece player who died on Wednesday, the England side spread out before the Wembley crowd in the vivid beauty of the floodlight glare.

It was a sight that thrilled the home fans. Bukayo Saka was nearest the benches, picking at his shirt. Phil Foden, last season’s Footballer of the Year, stood on the half-way line, at the edge of the centre circle. Trent Alexander-Arnold, the best passer of the ball in the Premier League, was pushed up high, too.

Cole Palmer, the four-goal-a-game wunderkind of the English game, the hottest property we have, stood at the bottom of the centre circle. Real Madrid‘s Jude Bellingham, one of the front runners for the Ballon d’Or, took kick off. Anthony Gordon, the Newcastle winger, sprinted down the left.

It is too early for Christmas shopping — for most of us, anyway — but this was the present every England fan wanted to unwrap. This was what everyone had been demanding. Take the handbrake off, I believe is the phrase that was used for much of the summer.

This was not so much taking the handbrake off as doing doughnuts in the high street. It was hard not to admire the ambition. It was the beginning of an attempt to take the step forward that everyone knows England need to take to win tournaments.

Vangelis Pavlidis netted twice, with the second goal coming deep into stoppage time

Jude Bellingham thought he’d spared his side a point, only for them to concede moments later

Lee Carsley, England’s interim manager, is to be commended for trying it. And it is easier to try it in a Nations League 2, Group B, match at Wembley against Greece than it is in the white heat of a tournament. But it didn’t work.

England were outplayed for much of the game and Jude Bellingham, still the main man, seemed to have rescued a draw three minutes from the end with a confident strike that Greece goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos could not quite keep out.

But England didn’t deserve a draw and they didn’t get it. Yet another England defensive mix-up deep into added time led to a melee in which the ball broke to Vangelis Pavlidis, who lashed it past Pickford for the winner.

This was a reality check for both the manager — for whom this was a first defeat in his three games in charge — and for those who seemed to think that, without Gareth Southgate in charge, England would automatically win the World Cup in 2026 and the next European Championship, too.

One other thing that the result proved: some of the criticism of Southgate, both at the European Championship last summer and before, was crass and simplistic. It is easy to demand that all England’s best players start. It is less easy to mould them into a winning team.

It is easy to say, as so many did, that Gordon would have made all the difference if he had played in Germany. The reality is somewhat different. Gordon is a fine player but he had a chance on Thursday night and he didn’t take it.

The fear was always that acceding to popular demand by playing every creative player England has to muster would be like baking a cake packed with so many delicious ingredients you couldn’t taste any of them.

In the first half, England tried to play a kind of Total Football, with their midfielders and forwards in fluid inter-changeable roles. Some observers fretted about the system but it almost felt as if the point was there was no system.

For too long, it felt shapeless and confused. Bellingham, Foden and Palmer emerged for the second half deep in conversation as if they were trying to work out how to make sense of what they were trying to do.

Pavlidis had given Greece the lead in the first half, with the visitors also having two goals ruled out for offside and an effort cleared off the line in a concerning defensive display from England

Greece’s players displayed a shirt in tribute to George Baldock – who died on Wednesday

Carsley should at least be commended for his selection and doing it in a Nations League game

But it didn’t work – and it was evident that England are not going to stroll to World Cup success

Palmer seemed uncomfortable playing as deep as he did, Foden failed to shine again, Jordan Pickford was nervy and uncertain in goal and England often looked hopelessly outnumbered by a fluent, clever Greece side who were superb on the counter.

The first hint this might not be an England exhibition came immediately. Bellingham was dispossessed on the edge of the Greece area and the visitors mounted a lightning counter-attack that ended when Pavlidis curled a shot wide. He should have scored.

England bore more gifts. Jordan Pickford came out of his area to collect the ball and dithered for too long as he tried to pick out a player to pass to. He ended up passing it to Tasos Bakasetas, who lofted it towards the empty net Pickford had vacated.

It looked like a certain goal but Levi Colwill sprinted back to try to recover the lost cause and hooked the ball away at the last second. Greece claimed the ball had crossed the line. Replays showed that Colwill had reached it just in time. It was an outstanding rescue act.

England had another escape a minute later when Pickford indulged in more uncertainty, missed his punch in the area and allowed Konstantinos Mavropanos to nod the ball over the line. Pickford got lucky again. Mavropanos had strayed offside.

Greece pressed forward again. Alexander-Arnold was beaten on the England right and when the ball was pulled back, Bakasetas hooked it towards goal. Only a fine block from Stones stopped Greece taking the lead.

Now England hit back. Gordon played a superb through ball to Bellingham, who turned his man and rolled the ball back into the path of Palmer. Palmer had the goal at his mercy. It was hard to imagine him failing to score but he blasted high over the bar.

England were vulnerable and vibrant all at the same time. They continued to ride their luck in defence and, then in the next minute, Alexander-Arnold produced a sumptuous pass to pick out Gordon, who was wide open 12 yards out.

The defeat is a hammer blow to interim boss Carsley’s hopes of getting the job full time 

Carsley was criticised for not starting with a striker, with Ollie Watkins only introduced late on

Gordon only had Vlachodimos to beat but he tried to float his header over the keeper, Robin van Persie-style, rather than powering it to one side of him and the ball flew way too high.

The scores were level at half time but it was only four minutes after the interval when Greece got the goal they deserved. Koulierakis drove into the box and Pavlidis dribbled past weak challenges from Palmer, Stones and Alexander-Arnold and slid the ball past Pickford.

There was another alarm for England when a free kick to the back post found Koulierakis unmarked. He guided his header back across goal but Bellingham scrambled it clear.

Bellingham, who has not scored for Real Madrid all season, buried his chance when he got it in the 87th minute to remind everyone that he is still England’s most important player but Greece got the win they deserved with a late, late strike from Pavlidis.