After opening up their campaign with a win on Friday over F.Y.R.O.M, England failed to grab another set of three points in Greece, as Nikos Nioplias men kept their grip on first place intact by extending their ubeatean record after three matches — a streak that includes prior wins over F.Y.R.O.M and Lithuania.

An early goal from Daniel Sturridge got England on their way, but Greece levelled before the half through starlet Sotiris Ninis.

Olympiacos CFP prospect Konstantinos Mitroglou really should have won Greece the game, but both times the 21-year-old failed to net.

While the result should have been a win, but still a draw is okay I guess, the more impressive entity of the game was the exciting tempo of play displayed by the Greeks. Previously playing against lesser opposition, Greece’s first test against a reputable team in the U-21 scene saw the likes of Ninis, Mitroglou, Vasilis Koutsianikoulis, Ilini Dimoutsos really shine.

You can see a full match report here.

Nikos Nioplias has several of Greece’s starlets at his disposal for this crucial disposal, but the likes of Sotiris Ninis and Sokratis Papastathopoulos miss out on this match due to duties with the Senior Greek team. Nonetheless, the likes of many players from top Greek clubs have been called up for this match.

Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Kostas Mitroglou, Giannis Papadopoulos, Antonis Rikka, and Georgios Galitsios all made moves to bigger clubs this summer and will look to impress their employers on Wednesday night.

A crucial match itself, the added fact of Albania being Greece’s neighbours to the north adds more pressure to Greece’s youngsters.

Greece (Nikos Nioplias): Markos Vellidis (Diagoras), Giorgos Georgiadis (Pansseraikos), Dimitris Giantsis (Iraklis), Giorgos Galitsios (Olympiakos), Panagiotis Zorbas (AEK Athens), Stelios Iliadis (PAOK), Georgios Ioannidis (Iraklis), Alexandros Kasmeridis (OFI), Dimitrios Kiliaras (Panionios), Giannis Maniatis (Panionios), Stergios Marinos (Atromitos), Kostantinos Mitroglou (Olympiakos), Sotiris Balafas (PAOK), Vaggelis Ikonomou (Ionikos), Giannis Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), Antonis Petropoulos (Panathinaikos), Vassilios Pliatsikas (AEK Athens), Antonis Rikka (AEK Athens), Stefanos Siontis (Panathinaikos), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Panathinaikos)