Interim England manager Lee Carsley was relieved to seal Nations League promotion in a spectacular send-off against the Republic of Ireland and will now prepare a presentation to new boss Thomas Tuchel.
Gareth Southgate called time on his eight-year stint in July after losing in a second successive European Championship final, leading the Football Association to temporarily promote the Under-21s boss.
Carsley has had his ups and downs during a three-camp caretaker stint with England’s senior set-up that was bookended by victories against the nation he represented as a player.
Harry Kane scored from the spot after Ireland defender Liam Scales received a second booking shortly after half-time, with Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and debutant Taylor Harwood-Bellis then scoring their first international goals in a 5-0 win.
That result and Thursday’s 3-0 victory in Athens meant they went back to the Nations League top tier courtesy of a superior head-to-head record after finishing level on 15 points with Greece.
“It’d be fair to say there’s a bit of relief,” Carsley said.
“If we’d have spoken at the start of the campaign we’d probably have said you’re expected to get promotion but it’s difficult.
“No team has rolled over for us and let us just carry on. I’ve found it personally challenging and I know the staff have. It’s good that we’ve finished the campaign with such a strong performance.
“We spoke about not only gaining promotion from the Nations League but to potentially increase the pool of players Thomas has got to choose from.
“The challenge now for the players that have been involved for the last three camps is to be in and around the March squad.
“A lot of them have done themselves a lot of good in terms of enhancing their reputation of their ability to play in the England senior team and gaining a cap is no mean feat. I’m really proud for a lot of them.”
A giant ‘thank you’ to Carsley was displayed on the Wembley screens at full-time, when Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham released a statement expressing gratitude.
“I would like to thank Lee Carsley and his coaching team for their hard work and results in the last six games,” he said.
“Lee has achieved the main objective from the six fixtures this autumn: securing promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League.
“He has selected some exciting new players and will be providing Thomas Tuchel and Anthony Barry with a very detailed handover as they start work on our qualifying campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“The players have really enjoyed working with Lee and his team – they have made a real impact in their interim roles.
“Lee will now return to the Under-21s and will continue to play a vital role supporting the seniors by developing England’s best young players.
“His leadership and coaching gives us the best possible chance of back-to-back U21 Euro wins next summer, and he will continue to play a big part in elite football development across the FA.”
Tuchel officially starts his role with England on January 1 and Carsley plans to meet the former Chelsea boss sooner rather than later to present him with information.
“I’m trying to put together, with the rest of the staff, a debrief on all three camps,” he said.
“I will put together a document, then hopefully meet him and present what we think and what we’ve found.
“The job for us as an Under-21s staff is to support the senior manager as much as we can, find out what he needs and how we can help.
“I’m really comfortable with that role. I’m looking forward to meeting him now in the next few weeks.”
Carsley sidestepped the question of whether he would like to return to manage the England senior team again one day, instead focusing on the here and now.
“It’s a job that deserves an elite coach with a track record of winning and Thomas has got that,” he said.
“The bonus would be we’ve increased the pool of players. The next squad will be a real challenge to pick, I’m sure. Exciting times ahead.”
