David Hytner was at Wembley for us today. I’ll leave you with his report of a game of two distinct 45-minute segments.
Lee Carsley verdict
It was a good performance. We played with real intent and it was frustrating to come off 0-0 at half-time. I believed we’d score goals if we kept doing what we spoke about and it was great that we got out rewards in the end.
It was a great pass [for the first goal] and a great evening for a lot of the players [who scored their first goals for England]. The main thing was to get promotion and it’s pleasing in that respect.
When [Jarrod Bowen] went on I said to him, ‘Just shoot every time you get the ball!’ He’s got great quality and sometimes he can be a bit unselfish. He’s got to make sure he gets the goals and assists that he deserves.
[What’s the overriding emotion after this campaign?] I suppose it’s relief. I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch, to be attacking, to show what I see day-in day-out on the training ground.
[On picking so many debutants] I don’t think it’s a gamble – these are excellent players with a mentality that stands out. They’ve got a history of winning, especially the under-21 players, and they expect to win when they turn up to play for England.
[What has this stint given you as a coach?] I think it’s given the staff and myself the confidence that we can do the job. That was a big thing – you always doubt yourself and whether you can do it or not.
We often speak about how there’s a lot of England manager sat in their house picking the team and squad. So to have the responsibility to do that – and the trust from my bosses – has given me a massive boost of confidence.
