Oct 13,2024
Vangelis Pavlidis admitted he did not know how to feel after firing Greece to victory over England as he and his team-mates mourned George Baldock.
The Benfica striker's double secured a 2-1 Nations League victory at Wembley on Thursday evening despite Baldock’s former team-mates struggling to coming to terms with his death at the age of just 31.
They will return to action against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday still numb over the week’s events.
Pavlidis said: "It has been very difficult for everyone, not only the team, but for everyone involved. However at the end of the day, we are professional, we had to play the match and we had to play it for George.
"The team in the end was happy about the result of the match. However at the same time, it’s difficult to explain the emotions because we were not sure ourselves what we were feeling."
Head coach Ivan Jovanovic revealed he too had found it difficult to deal with the Panathinaikos full-back’s death.
Asked how he had balanced the need to work with his players with the emotions they were experiencing, he said: "It was difficult.
"They are young, but it’s hard for me myself to control my feelings, never mind helping the players as well because it’s difficult for me to control my own feelings about it.
"Perhaps the (England) match itself helped, not only as a fixture but also how the match was developing and they probably realised as well that they had the chance to do something maybe historic for George, and that helped them through the whole match and helped them with their feelings."
If football has not understandably been the priority at times over the last few days, the Greeks find themselves sitting top of the group with a maximum nine points.
However, the Euro 2004 champions, who last qualified for a major tournament more than 10 years ago, are taking nothing for granted as they prepare to face Ireland at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
Pavlidis said: "In the past, Greece has been known to follow a good result with a not so good result. We are focused on the match to make sure it doesn’t happen.
"We know what to expect with Ireland. They are a very hard team, very strong, very physical, they give 100 per cent in every match."
Jovanovic has doubts over Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas and PAOK Salonika midfielder Giannis Konstantelias, who have both been ill, although the pair were due to train on Saturday evening.
