Greece pay tribute to 'special' George Baldock in famous win over England at Wembley

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Evening Standard

·10 ottobre 2024

Greece pay tribute to 'special' George Baldock in famous win over England at Wembley

Baldock died in his Athens home on Wednesday night

Greece paid tribute to George Baldock as they earned a famous win over England at Wembley.

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Forward Vangelis Pavlidis, who had earlier in the night given his country the lead, struck in the 94th-minute to snatch a thoroughly deserved victory for Greece, and their first ever win over the Three Lions.

A minute’s silence was observed ahead of kick-off and both sets of players wore black armbands in memory of Baldock, who tragically died at the age of 31 on Wednesday evening.

Greek police have said there was no evidence that criminal activity, with Baldock’s family confirming that he had drowned while swimming in the pool at his home in Athens.

Baldock, who joined Greek side Panathinaikos in the summer, was capped 12 times by Greece and was at the forefront of the visitors’ minds at Wembley.

Both sets of players wore a black armband at Wembley

Action Images via Reuters

Pavlidis raised his black armband after scoring his first goal and the Greece players held up a shirt with Baldock’s name on the back, as Pavlidis then paid tribute to his former team-mate after the match.

“It was a really special game for us because of George, and of course we gave everything for him and for his family,” Pavlidis told ITV.

“It’s a great win but more important is the emotion - that we are people - and it was a special night because of him first of all.

“[We have thought about him] a lot from yesterday when we heard it happened. A really difficult moment for us because George was part of the team. He was a special guy. We have to play for him and it doesn't matter the score today. We wanted to play for him and we gave everything for him.”