A Gareth Southgate lookalike was spotted at Wembley (Image: Getty)
England fans could have been forgiven for thinking Gareth Southgate had turned up at Wembley for their UEFA Nations League clash against Greece on Thursday.
The 54-year-old stepped down from his role in August after nearly eight years in charge following their Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
He was replaced on a temporary basis by interim boss Lee Carsley, with Southgate vowing to take a break from management citing burnout from his challenging tenure.
But eagle-eyed fans may have been rubbing this eyes in disbelief after an England fan was spotted in the crowd bearing a clear resemblance to the ex-Three Lions manager.
Even ITV commentator Sam Matterface felt compelled to comment on the remarkable likeness between the two men, joking that Southgate wanted to 'sneak in' to catch his former side in action. His comments had co-commentator Lee Dixon chuckling alongside him.
"Gareth Southgate said he wasn't going to take charge of a nation or a club in the near future," Matterface quipped, referring to comments made by the former England boss earlier this week where he ruled out taking a job for at least a year.
And when the lookalike was picked up by TV cameras, he added while Dixon laughed: "But he still likes to sneak in and have a quick look at how his old friends and foes are getting on!"
It's not the first time this year that a Southgate doppelganger has appeared amongst fans before a match. A video clip went viral on social media before England's Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands in Dortmund when fans spotted an uncanny clone of the two-time Euro finalist.
The man, a police officer, was quickly surrounded by England fans, who serenaded him with the popular parody of Atomic Kitten's song 'Whole Again', with the amended lyrics praising Southgate.
Vangelis Pavlidis scored the winner for Greece to stun England (Image: Getty)
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If the authentic, waistcoat-wearing Southgate had actually been present at Wembley, it's unlikely he would have been impressed the performance from his former players.
Greece were unfortunate to go into the break without the lead after two early chances as England struggled to get going in the first 45 minutes. Levi Colwill heroically cleared the ball off the line from Angelos Bakasetas' effort following an error from Jordan Pickford, and Konstantinos Mavropanos scored after Pickford dropped the ball - only to see the offside flag go up against him.
Things didn't go much better after the break when Vangelos Pavlidis weaved inside the defenders and fired beyond Pickford to hand Greece a deserved lead. Jude Bellingham equalised late on but Pavlidis struck again in stoppage time to seal a shock 2-1 victory for the visitors.
The only consolation for Southgate is that it's no longer his responsibility to fix the issues, with Carsley facing something of an inquest after a surprise defeat.
