England were beaten 2-1 by Greece in their first competitive Wembley defeat for four years; the loss is a blow for Lee Carsley’s chances of getting the full-time England job after he played an experimental line-up with no striker; Sky Sports’ football writers analyse what went wrong…
After Lee Carsley suffered the first blip in his audition for the England manager’s job – if he wants the role, that is – Sky Sports’ football writers look at what went wrong in the 2-1 home loss to Greece.
Too many stars, not enough balance
Lee Carsley should have learned from the mistakes of those that had come before him. You simply cannot cram a bunch of stars into one team and hope for the best.
There was excitement that the man auditioning to replace Gareth Southgate was stepping away from the cautious approach of the last regime, but England went all out attack and had two shots on target against Greece, the 48th best nation in the world, at home.
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Sky Sports’ Tim Thornton and Ron Walker reflect on England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece and what it means for Lee Carsley’s future in the role
- England 1-2 Greece – report & analysis
- How the teams lined up | Match stats
- Nations League tables | Fixtures
- Stream Sky Sports with NOW
Although Southgate was more measured, he also fell into the same trap. He chose star names over balance at the Euros, perhaps to manage egos, and it backfired. England reached the final but never looked like a team deserving of leaving with the trophy.
It was naive of Carsley to think Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon in one starting XI would be a sustainable line-up, especially with – in Carsley’s words – only 20 minutes of training time in the system the day before the game. Even if England had coasted past Greece, what purpose would it serve for a major tournament?
England need a manager strong enough to drop the stars, someone with the gravitas to deal with the fallout when they make the big decisions, and Carsley does not seem to fit the bill.
The impossible job has proven too big for coaches far more experienced than England’s interim. Whoever finally finds success will have to be more ruthless with the stars.
Zinny Boswell
Why overlook Watkins & Solanke despite Kane being unfit?
Image: Watkins (right) had to settle for a place on the bench, with Bellingham being used as a No 10 against Greece
England’s interim head coach Lee Carsley opted to start Thursday night’s Nations League clash against Greece with five attackers on the pitch, but no actual out-and-out striker in the absence of the injured Harry Kane, with both in-form frontmen Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke left to watch proceedings from the substitutes’ bench.
However, that system clearly failed to get the best out of the side in possession with England having just two shots on target – in the third minute and their 87th-minute goal – both from Bellingham, while also leaving them vulnerable to the counter-attack without it as the visitors recorded their first win at Wembley Stadium.
On the approach to fill the starting line-up with attacking talent, but without a centre forward, Carsley – who then introduced Watkins on the hour mark, with Solanke following 12 minutes later as the hosts switched to 4-4-2 – explained after the loss: “I think it’s a case of trying something different.
“The expectancy is that we just pick a team that beat Greece comfortably at Wembley. You’ve got to take into consideration the opposition are highly motivated and try and stop you.”
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England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and striker Dominic Solanke admit to shortcomings against Greece but say the squad has the chance to put things right against Finland on Sunday
Carsley is hopeful of having his captain back to lead the line against Finland in Helsinki on Sunday, although despite how unbalanced the team looked against Greece, the 50-year-old still refused to rule out adopting a similar attacking line-up in future games.
“I don’t think [this approach is] something that you should rule out. At times we have to be creative, especially with the players that we’ve got, but there was obviously a lot of challenges tonight.”
Richard Morgan
Foden produces another England dud display
“Can’t start a fire without a spark” was the chant England fans gave Phil Foden at Euro 2024. That spark has not flickered for a while.
Another blank for Foden means it is now 15 straight Three Lions matches without a goal or an assist. His last international goal contribution came 12 months ago.
Foden will point towards not having a settled spot in this England team, with last term’s Premier League Player of the Season often shoehorned on the left, particularly at Euro 2024.
But the Greece game was a chance for Foden to show his worth in a free central role and he ended the game with zero chances created, zero shots and zero take-ons completed.
When are we going to see the real Phil Foden for England?
Sam Blitz
Is Alexander-Arnold England’s best option at right-back?
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his first successive start for England for the first time in his career in Thursday night’s defeat to Greece.
Under Carsley, it’s a symbol of the growing importance and potentially cracking the code as to how to get the best out of one of England’s most productive players.
However, despite creating the most chances of any player on the pitch, Alexander-Arnold’s defensive play has been drawn into question once again. His lax display at the back meant that time after time, Greece found joy on that left side of the pitch.
Image: Trent Alexander-Arnold created more chances than anyone on the pitch against Greece but was suspect defensively
It begs the question as to whether Kyle Walker remains England’s best option at right-back. Reintroduced into the squad for this round of internationals, Walker was an unused substitute against Greece.
The Manchester City right-back has fallen down the pecking order after his underwhelming displays at Euro 2024 in the summer but perhaps remains the tried, tested and trusted right-back.
Carsley seems intent on bringing the average age of his England side down and at 34 years old, Walker probably represents the old guard within the Three Lions squad, present for his experience rather than what he can bring to the side.
However, with Alexander-Arnold yet to convincingly pin down the position, Walker may find himself back in the side.
William Bitibiri
Is Guehi’s omission too harsh after Euro 2024 heroics?
England looked defensively suspect and their best defender from Euro 2024 was sat on the bench.
Image: England defender Marc Guehi (right) was an unused substitute against Greece
Marc Guehi has not stated the season brilliantly with Crystal Palace but the credit he built up as the Three Lions’ most reliable option at the back in Germany last summer seems to have disappeared.
Carsley went for John Stones – captain for the night – and Levi Colwill at the back, the first time the pair had played together in the centre of defence for England. With so much uncertainty at the top end of the pitch, surely some solidity and recognisable faces at the back would have helped with the experiment.
Stones and Colwill were fine at the back – the latter especially has started the season well for Chelsea and there are way more issues in this England team that the centre-back pairing.
Image: England played a new centre-back pairing in John Stones and Levi Colwill in front of Jordan Pickford
But when England were looking unconvincing at Euro 2024, Guehi bailed out England’s backline to make sure they kept going through the rounds and picking up wins. The Palace defender’s fall from grace seems odd.
Sam Blitz
If not Carsley, then who?
England had a fairly substantial and equally attractive list of potential replacements when Southgate announced his resignation in mid-July. Eddie Howe, for so long seen as the FA’s protege, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino with Carsley as a dependable fall-back option given his achievements with the U21s.
Now, Pochettino is unavailable and Carsley’s hopes of getting the job have taken a sudden hit. Howe gave his very conditional loyalty to Newcastle which was tested by a poor transfer window and the departure of Amanda Staveley, who was instrumental in bringing him to the club.
However, he has a long-term contract on Tyneside and there have always been question marks about whether the FA could afford to buy him out of it.
Image: Eddie Howe and Graham Potter have been mentioned as the two English frontrunners for the job
Pep Guardiola has always been a pipe dream and would be available for free next summer, but this means at least another seven games without a permanent manager and though he has always spoken positively about the job, there is no guarantee he is ready to give up on club football – or Man City – just yet.
Thomas Tuchel has been mentioned more recently but England have never felt comfortable with foreign managers in charge, least of all one bearing the flag of their biggest rivals. And, with rising speculation Manchester United may turn to him if they dispose of Erik ten Hag, he may not be available for much longer anyway.
That leaves Potter, who would never display the kind of tactical naivety we saw at Wembley on Thursday, but who quickly showed in his one elite-level job at Chelsea he may not have the ability to deal with the kind of personalities who occupy the dressing room.
Especially when a number of those are either in the current England squad, or have been called up recently.
Mark Bullingham is giving the impression of a man willing to bide his time before choosing Southgate’s replacement, having held off from contacting any of Howe, Potter or Tuchel. At the moment that still looks the wisest choice.
Because, in the absence of a stand-out candidate, England can afford failed experiments like Carsley’s against Greece with a Pot 1 World Cup 2026 qualifying spot almost certain, leaving them without a major international obligation coming up until the finals of that tournament in almost two years’ time.
Ron Walker
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