For West Ham centre back Dinos Mavropanos and his Greece teammates, the latest international break was full of emotion and extremely challenging.

On the 9th of October, the Greek squad and the footballing world as a whole were shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of George Baldock at just 31 years old. The former Sheffield United and MK Dons fullback who left England in the summer to sign for Panathinaikos was sadly found dead at his home in Athens. Baldock had won 12 caps for Greece since making his international debut in 2022.

Just a day after Baldock’s death, Greece played England at Wembley Stadium. They went on to win the game 2-1 and secured their first ever win against the Three Lions. Vangelis Pavlidis who scored twice for Greece alongside his international colleagues dedicated the win to their teammate and late friend.

With confidence high after the win against England and wanting to continue to honour their teammate Baldock, Greece then faced the Republic of Ireland who they beat 2-0 making it four wins from four matches in their Nations League group.

Following a difficult week and his return to Rush Green, West Ham defender Mavropanos spoke to the Club’s official website about his desire to do well for his country and his club.

“Everyone was so close with George. He was two years in the national team. He was such a beloved guy, always smiling and he gave everything to everything he did, so it was a tough, tough time for us.” said Mavropanos.

Reflecting on a successful week for his country on the pitch despite the devastating loss of his international teammate Baldock, Mavropanos said: “In terms of football, it was a successful week with two good performances and results as well, but of course the news about George meant we were sad rather than happy.”

For West Ham, Mavropanos has been on the bench in the last two Premier League matches. Regardless, the 26 year old is fully committed to giving his all for the team whether he is in the starting eleven or not. “Of course I prefer to play as a starter, but I am always there whenever the team needs me in whatever position.”

The Greek international certainly knows Saturday’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur is a big game and that the Hammers will need to leave it all on the pitch if they are to come away with three points: “Saturday is a big game after the international break and we just have to give everything we have because it’s an important derby and we need to get the three points.”