Curtis Jones made history as he rolled a cheeky backheel into the net against Greece to become the first Liverpool player to score on his England debut in 42 years.
No, the last player was not Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Raheem Sterling, or other talismans of the club’s past. Instead, it was former midfielder Sammy Lee on November 17, 1982, also in an away fixture against Greece.
On this day, England midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White picked up a loose ball in his own third and carried it to the edge of the Greek 18-yard box before laying off to Jarrod Bowen on the wing.
Bowen slotted the ball back to an underlapping Gibbs-White in the box, who rolled the ball centrally to a dashing Jones. The Liverpool midfielder slid the backheel far post despite being blanketed by Greek midfielder Christos Zafeiris.
Jones was arguably the best player on the pitch in England’s routine 3-0 victory over Greece, capping off a scorching run of form for the Liverpool youngster.
He’s started four of the Reds’ last five games in the league and the club’s most recent fixtures in both the Champions League and the League Cup – all wins aside from a 2-2 road draw against Arsenal.
Jones is now up to 13 appearances and seven starts on the young season despite missing the beginning of the campaign with a groin injury. Now, he’s definitively ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai in the team’s midfield pecking order.
Before Thursday’s contest, Jones had been capped at practically every England level. He made 20 appearances for the U21s and scored the winning goal in the 2024 UEFA Euro U21 final against Spain.
Who is Sammy Lee? The former Liverpool midfielder made his breakthrough for the club in 1980 and made his England debut two years later.
His goal against Greece was his first of two career England goals in 14 total caps. With Liverpool. he woild claim two European Cups and four First Division crowns as part of a nine-year spell on Merseyside.
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Lee would later serve as both an England and a Liverpool assistant manager. He stepped in as the main man on the touchline for a December 2008 contest against Arsenal when Rafael Benitez came down with an illness.
Jones was the only Liverpool player to feature for England on the day, though Jarrell Quansah made his debut appearance on the bench for the Three Lions.
On Sunday, Jones and England will host Ireland. A win would see them win Nations League B Group 2 and earn promotion back up to Nations League A.
