Midfielder Dimitrios Pelkas has revealed that Greece did not wish to play their Nations League match against England following the tragic death of George Baldock but felt compelled to secure a victory in his memory. Baldock, a former Sheffield United defender, passed away at the age of 31 after an accidental drowning in his swimming pool in Athens. He earned 12 caps for Greece, having qualified to represent them through his grandmother, and was last part of their squad for the Euro 2024 play-off loss to Georgia. Greece honored their fallen teammate after achieving a historic 2-1 win over England at Wembley, with Vangelis Pavlidis scoring the decisive goal in stoppage time.
Pelkas, who was brought on as a substitute, stated that his team did not want to play the match but were unable to postpone it due to the tight scheduling. "It is like this, rules are rules, Uefa don’t have another opportunity to play this game, so we played today," he explained. "We dedicate this win to him. When such tragedies occur, football takes a back seat. The most important thing is that our friend George is no longer with us."
"We will never forget him; I was certain today that he was watching over us from above, celebrating with us and urging us to secure this victory. I don’t want to talk about football. Yesterday was incredibly difficult for all of us; we couldn’t speak, laugh, or even eat at the hotel. It was an extremely tough day. I extend my condolences to his family, who are going through the most challenging period. It was really hard, he was one of us, an excellent guy, as if he had been with us from a very young age." Uefa has been contacted for comment.
