England head to Athens this evening to kickstart Lee Carsley's final international break as interim manager before the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in the new year.
The Three Lions are in desperate need of a win in their bid to earn immediate promotion to Group A of the UEFA Nations League, having slipped to defeat against Greece in the reverse fixture at Wembley earlier this season.
Carsley was tasked with overcoming a mass withdrawal over the past week, with as many as nine players now removing themselves from the squad due to various fitness issues.
England side to face Greece leaked
The departing manager reiterated his commitment to playing attacking football ahead of the game, telling reporters: “It’s important we try and win the game and perform well.
“They are the priorities. The type of team I will pick – as you can probably guess – will be quite attacking. That’s the way I coach and how I want their attitudes to be, I want to attack. Hopefully, that will work out well.”
However, the former Everton and Ireland midfielder is set to omit England's all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane from his lineup for Thursday's game, according to a report from the Guardian.
The report claims the Three Lions' captain, who ranked at no.6 in FourFourTwo's list of the best players in the world right now, has made the trip to Athens and is not struggling with any apparent injury issues, with Carsley's decision said to have caused plenty of surprise among the rest of the England camp.
Carsely, who hasn't shied away from rocking the boat in his short tenure, is said to be opting for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins in the high-stakes clash, a player who grabbed an assist in each of his last two international appearances.
Kane hit the headlines in recent days after calling out England teammates following a number of high-profile withdrawals, confirming his belief that "England comes before anything."
“The joy to play for England – he brought that back,” Kane told ITV. “Every camp people were excited to come, every camp people wanted to play for England. That’s the most important thing. England comes before anything. England comes before club. England, it’s the most important thing you play as a professional footballer. Gareth [Southgate] was hot on that.
“He wasn’t afraid to make decisions if that started to drift from certain players. It’s a shame this week. Obviously it’s a tough period of the season. Maybe there’s been a little taking advantage of that. I don’t really like it if I’m totally honest.”
