On Thursday night, four Reds participated in UEFA Nations League play, and Curtis Jones scored on his senior England debut.
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Lee Carlsey picked the Liverpool midfielder to start for his nation for the first time, and he assisted the Three Lions in defeating Greece 3-0 in Athens. Jones’ bold flick inside the box added to an Ollie Watkins goal and an own goal from Odysseas Vlachodimos to give his country their third goal of the evening.
Jones remarked, “I tried, I tried!” with reference to leaving an impression in his debut.
The local boys also provided assistance. I was playing freely when I got outside, and I was grinning. I was having fun, and I’m glad I left with a goal as well.He went on: “I can go high and come low, get on the ball, and play when you have a team like ours.” There are guys there to lend a hand, and there are guys who say, “I can go [forward] too.”
Jude [Bellingham] remained, so I realized that I had an opportunity to go, and I was fortunate to score.
Kostas Tsimikas, a Reds teammate, played 56 minutes of the match against Greece, and Jarell Quansah, who was promoted late from the U21 squad, did not play as a replacement for England.
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In other news, goalie Caoimhin Kelleher saved a penalty kick in the 77th minute to help the Republic of Ireland defeat Finland 1-0 in Dublin.
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This came after Evan Ferguson had given his team the lead in the first half. “Before he stepped up I just looked at the run up and kind of went on instinct and thankfully I went the right way!” Kelleher reflected on the penalty save and the game. “I believe we may have occasionally ridden our luck in the first half.
There were two off the post, some excellent blocks that you occasionally have to make, and solid defense. Fortunately, we scored a fantastic goal before, I believe, simply defending. There are benefits to it because, aside from the penalty, there weren’t many opportunities.
Finally, as the center-back for France in their 0-0 tie with Israel in Paris, Ibrahima Konate also contributed to keeping a clean sheet.
