Lee Carsley admitted that England were the "second best" team as they suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Greece on Thursday.

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England beaten 2-1 at home to GreeceVisitors struck late after Bellingham goalCarsley's first defeat as interim bossFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Three Lions were sunk by two goals from Greece striker Vangelis Pavlidis, whose second came deep into stoppage time and minutes after Jude Bellingham scored what seemed to be a late equaliser.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The loss leaves England second in their Nations League group as Greece went top with a perfect record after three matches. After winning his first two games as interim England manager last month, Carsley has suffered his first defeat and conceded that the visitors were the better side.

WHAT CARSLEY SAID

"We were second best for a lot of tonight, it is disappointing. You are going to get set backs and it's important we respond," he told .

"We tried something different and tried to overload the midfield. We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday, we experimented, and disappointed it didn't come off. It's unrealistic to expect too much and we will have to try again. All the goals were from mistakes, which is disappointing… We tried something different. It doesn't change anything. My remit is to do the three camps."

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR CARSLEY?

England are in action again on October 13 when they take on Finland. With Carsley reportedly still in the frame to take the job permanently, he cannot afford another miserable performance in Helsinki.