Greece celebrate record-breaking Wembley goal with touching George Baldock tribute

Greece opened the scoring against England in the Nations League on Thursday night and their squad paid tribute to the late George Baldock in their celebrations, a day after his tragic death

Greece celebrated their first-ever goal at Wembley by holding up a shirt bearing George Baldock’s name.

They had travelled to Wembley to take on England in the Nations League on Thursday night. The game came a day after Greek international Baldock was found dead in the swimming pool at his villa in Athens.

Baldock earned 12 caps for Greece before his tragic drowning on Wednesday. As well as a moment of silence, both sets of players were wearing black armbands in tribute to the 31-year-old.

And after dancing past Trent Alexander-Arnold, John Stones and Cole Palmer before slotting his shot past Jordan Pickford, Greece striker Vangelis Pavlidis ran to the corner flag while pointing to his armband. He then held it in the air as he was embraced by his team-mates.

They then also held up a white Greece shirt which bore Baldock’s name and his number. Pavlidis’ strike was his country’s first-ever goal at Wembley. Before kick-off, a minute’s silence was held in memory of the 31-year-old.

Though born in Buckinghamshire, Baldock qualified to represent Greece through his grandmother. His last appearance came in the Euro 2024 play-offs against Georgia in March, with his team-mates from the national team left devastated by his death.

A statement from them ahead of the England match read: “It is impossible to believe that our dear friend and teammate, George, is no longer with us. Our pain is indescribable. Tonight we will try to reach the power of his soul, which is a bright example for us all. Our thoughts are with his family.”

Baldock was found by the owner of the villa he was staying in after his wife became concerned about his safety. Emergency services pulled him out of the water but were unable to resuscitate him.

A post-mortem found that he drowned, with police continuing to look into the circumstances around his death. His family also penned an emotional tribute as they confirmed the post-mortem’s findings.

“We are heartbroken with the sudden passing of our beloved George. We can confirm that a post-mortem examination has found that George tragically drowned whilst swimming in the pool at his home in Glyfada, Athens,” a statement from the family read.

“George, you were the most special father, fiancé, son, brother, uncle, friend, teammate and person. Your enthusiasm and infectious personality brought so much love to those that were fortunate enough to know you and those that adored you from the stands.

“We will forever cherish the special memories we have of you and you will continue to live on in your beautiful son. You were due to fly home today for us to celebrate his first birthday together, but instead we mourn your loss.

“As a family it has been incredibly touching, but equally so very difficult to read the huge number of tributes written by those that knew George and from those whose life he touched. It was impossible not to love him. We ask that you please continue to respect our privacy at this devastating time as we begin to process our grief.”

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