England U21s are on the verge of failing to qualify for the European Championships after losing to Greece.
Pearce's men on the brink of being eliminated
England Under-21s are on the verge of failing to qualify for the European Championships after losing 2-1 to Greece in Doncaster.
Stuart Pearce's side were second best for long periods at the Keepmoat Stadium and were deservedly losing 1-0 at the break thanks to Kyriakos Papadopoulos' goal.
Ioannis Papadopoulos then took advantage of some hapless English defending to double their lead just after the break.
Aston Villa starlet Nathan Delfouneso marked his Under-21 debut with a goal, but it was too little too late as Greece clinched the win which puts them in control of Group 9.
Greece are now five points clear and know a point in their final game with Macedonia will guarantee top-spot and progress to the play-offs, while England need them to lose and then win their last two matches against Portugal and Lithuania.
Pearce started the match by giving a debut to Tottenham defender Kyle Walker at right-back while Lee Cattermole and Jack Rodwell returned after missing the double-header against Portugal and Lithuania in November through injury.
The Greeks were without star player Sotiris Ninis, who scored against England in the 1-1 draw between the sides last year.
Greece, managed by Pearce's former Newcastle team-mate Georgios Georgiadis, were unlucky only to take a point from their home encounter and they were much the better side in the early stages, with Elin Dimoutsos and Ioannis Papadopoulos both shooting over.
England, who were wearing black armbands in memory of Macclesfield manager Keith Alexander, were struggling to create chances with only Andy Carroll up front and it was Scott Loach who was called on to make the first save from Ioannis Papadopoulos' shot.
Opener
It was therefore no surprise when Greece took the lead in the 28th minute. Sokratis Papastathopoulos' header from a Ioannis Papadopoulos corner was cleared off the line by Ryan Bertrand but only as far as Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who shot home right-footed.
England upped the tempo in response and Tom Cleverley saw his 20-yard effort deflected onto the roof of the net while Cattermole then tested Asterios Giakoumis after a driving run from midfield.
But the hosts would have been two down before half-time had Loach not got fingertips to Anestis Argyriou's angled drive.
Things did get worse for England less than four minutes into the second half when hesitation in defence allowed Georgiadis' side to double their advantage.
Cattermole halted a Vasileios Koutsianikoulis run just outside the box and, as Chris Smalling tried to let the ball run through to Loach, Ioannis Papadopoulos nipped in to curl a shot into the bottom corner.
Jack Wilshere found space 15 yards out thanks to a neat flick but could only sky his effort and Pearce reacted to his side's predicament by bringing on Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge in place of holding midfielder Fabrice Muamba.
Smalling was then in the right place to clear from almost on the goalline after Loach blocked a Dimoutsos effort while a poor touch from the Fulham defender almost released Konstantinos Mitroglou but he make amends with a decent tackle.
That was Smalling's last meaningful action as he made way for Aston Villa striker Delfouneso.
And five minutes after making his entrance, the 19-year-old gave England hope.
Walker fired in a shot from the edge of the area and Giakoumis could only push the ball out to Delfouneso, who finished confidently.
England, runners-up at the last European Championship finals in 2009, pushed for an equaliser during four minutes of injury time but failed to test Giakoumis again.
