Post full of optimism before the game. “If Bazball revolutionized English cricket with his attacking mindset – 145 overs in a row without facing a first game in this 823/7 today – this England line-up feels like it could be the birth of Cazball: packed with attack-oriented talents including the full-backs, a defensive midfielder who is now the marauding number 8 and a centre-back who may soon play CDM for the champions. “Feels like a big and perhaps conscious change from Gareth’s famous caution” – Graham Porter

“Maybe not a recognized striker, but five excellent finishers. We may not have Kane, but we look very, very CapAbel!” – Billy Ditchburn (brazenly parking his tanks on our old friend Peter Oh’s funny lawn)

… and to bring the discourse back to ground level…

“I’m not sure I agree with you that Beckham’s game is not a reliable predictor of England’s qualification for the 2002 World Cup. If I remember correctly, England were atrocious throughout the game and were no real contenders in the cold light of day” – Tom Hopkins (who, to be fair, is right)

It’s not just England who are without their main striker tonight. Panathinaikos’ Fotis Ioannidis limped off the pitch against Olympiakos last weekend and is missing for Greece; He had already scored three goals in the first two games of this Nations League season. Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas is also out injured. Newcastle’s Odysseas Vlachodimos, West Ham’s Dinos Mavropanos and Cardiff’s Manolis Siopis all start.

Lee Carsley speaks to ITV. “It gave us the chance to try something out… to be creative with the system and hopefully with the way we play… we have to give Greece the respect they deserve… it’s important that we can keep up with them physically …we have a lot of flexibility…you Maybe there will be a lot of changes tonight…we have to make sure we challenge the opponent…we’re looking forward to the game…a chance to hopefully be exciting…we have some really creative players in wide areas and at fullback… lots of different options… we’re expecting a really tough game tonight.”

The last time England played Greece in a friendly at Old Trafford in 2006, the visitors were the reigning European champions and the hosts scored four goals in the first half. John Terry, Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch (2) took care of business that evening and ushered in the Steve McClaren era in spectacular fashion. The game ended 4-0 and the Guardian’s Kevin McCarra noted that the new manager “wishes his career as England manager could end the night it began”, an ironic remark that resonated with many others would soon have vehemently wished that it would have come true. So let’s not put too much stock in how Lee Carsley’s all-out attack plan plays out tonight: this game has proven to be a failure in the past.

The one before? A 2-2 draw in 2001, The The game of David Beckham that sent England to the 2002 World Cup with the belief that Sven-Göran Eriksson could be the man to put an end to these 36 years of hurt. It certainly wasn’t a reliable premonition.

But history also shows us that England are the favorites to win this evening. They have played against Greece nine times, winning seven times and drawing the other two games. So overall it was 23:3. There is also more current data from England: According to the Fifa rankings, the Three Lions are the fourth best team in the world, while Greece is in 48th place. But nothing is ever final and Ivan Jovanović’s side have a pretty identical record to England in League B2 so far – an away win in Dublin and a home win over Finland – so a surprise win is not out of the question.

1. Greece P2 S2 D0 L0 F5 A0 Pts6

2. England P2 W2 D0 L0 F4 A0 Pts6

3. Republic of Ireland P2 S0 D0 L2 F0 A4 Pts6

4. Finland P2 S0 D0 L2 F0 A5 Pts0

There is no Harry Kane for England tonight… and no recognized striker in Lee Carsley’s starting XI. No matter: Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham are all equipped with the crowbar, and they’re not exactly a bad collection of backup attacking talent. Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke are waiting on the bench just in case.

The teams

preamble