Liverpool star Kostas Tsimikas pays emotional tribute to George Baldock
Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas has paid tribute to Greece teammate George Baldock after his tragic death, aged 31. The 2004 European Champions defeated England 2-1 at Wembley - less than 24 hours after news of the Panathinaikos full-back's death emerged.
Vangelis Pavlidis scored twice, including a stoppage-time winner, to overcome the Three Lions. The 25-year-old striker opened the scoring after the break but, with a historic Greece win in sight, Jude Bellingham equalised for Lee Carsley's side.
However, the Benfica man found space inside the 18-yard box and fired beyond Jordan Pickford. Reds defender Tsimikas was missing from the squad for the famous win over England after reports suggested his absence was owing to an illness.
READ MORE: Former Liverpool midfielder Peter Cormack dies aged 78
READ MORE: 'It's crazy' - Ian Wright sends Liverpool and FSG firm message over Trent Alexander-Arnold
There was a moment of reflection for Baldock prior to the game, while both sets of players wore black armbands. The former Sheffield United defender made 12 appearances for Greece and he was also involved in their Euro 2024 play-off defeat to Georgia.
Taking to Instagram, Tsimikas posted an emotional five-word tribute to his international teammate following their nation's famous triumph over the Three Lions. He wrote: "I will miss you mate."
In light of the win, Greek midfielder Dimitrios Pelkas revealed that they did not want to participate in the Nations League encounter, but forced themselves to play. "It's like this, rules are rules," said Pelkas.
"Uefa don't have another opportunity to play this game, so we played," he added. "We give this win to him.
"When these things happen in life, football is the second part. The most important thing is our friend George.
"We will never forget him, I was sure that he would be with us from upstairs, and he would celebrate with us and force us to take this victory. I don't want to speak about football.
"It was very hard for all of us. We couldn't speak, we couldn't laugh, we couldn't eat in the hotel.
"It was a really hard day. I want to send my condolences to his family, for them it is the most difficult period. It was really difficult, it was one of us, he was an excellent guy, it's like he was with us from a very young age."