Interim boss Lee Carsley believes Thomas Tuchel is taking over England at an exciting time given the talented old guard is complemented by young stars boasting experience of success for their country.
Gareth Southgate ended his eight-year reign after falling agonisingly short in another European Championship final, with the shoot-loss to Italy three years ago compounded by July’s defeat to Spain.
The Football Association has turned to proven winner Tuchel to spearhead their quest for 2026 World Cup glory and the new boss cannot fail to have been impressed as he watched Thursday’s 3-0 win in Greece from afar.
England’s inexperienced and absentee-hit side controlled a match that saw Curtis Jones, Lewis Hall and Morgan Rogers make their debuts as temporarily promoted Under-21s boss Carsley continued to give youth a chance.
His belief in the up-and-coming talents is no surprise having presided over last year’s Under-21 Euros triumph – the kind of experience that the interim boss feels can aid Tuchel’s bid to take England to the top.
“I think they’ve put themselves in a really good position,” Carsley said of England’s youngsters.
“We spoke on Wednesday about the amount of players who weren’t here and the focus has been on the ones who are here.
In control of our #NationsLeague group ahead of Sunday's finale 📊 pic.twitter.com/9lhxlbiEWD
— England (@England) November 15, 2024
“It’s given six or seven some opportunity to be in a venue like this, and to experience that kind of atmosphere. They’ve done themselves a lot of good.
“We’ve seen a lot of these young players in the past but to get an opportunity to play and to be as exciting and attacking as they were is good to watch.
“We want to see a side that’s attacking, playing with energy, enthusiasm, creating chances and we had that tonight.”
Asked what advantage last year’s Under-21 Euros triumph can be, Carsley said: “They’ve won at under-18s as well and I think it definitely helps.
“We’ve seen that with Germany in the past and with Spain so why can’t that be England?”
It is not the first time Carsley has mentioned the benefit of age-level success during a Nations League tenure that will end in promotion should they beat the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.
The interim boss has confirmed Harry Kane will start that 17th and final match of the year having been surprisingly named on the bench in Athens, where replacement Ollie Watkins opened the scoring.
“He’s playing on Sunday,” Carsley said of England’s skipper. “Yeah he’ll start.
“He’s captain, he’s so important to the team. It was just a case of having a look at something different, giving someone else the experience who has not had a lot of chances to do so yet. Nothing more than that.
“I definitely didn’t drop Harry Kane. He’s done well for me every game he’s played and been involved with.
“It wasn’t a case of being dropped, far from it, it was just a case of giving someone an opportunity.
“Ollie is playing in the Champions League with Villa, he’s doing really well, the same with Morgan Rogers.
“It’s great that he got a goal, it looks like a great decision then doesn’t it? Ultimately he should take a lot of credit and confidence from tonight.”
Sunday will be all-time top scorer Kane’s 103rd international appearance and would see Jude Bellingham hit the 40-cap mark aged just 21.
It's been some England journey for @morgz_10 and @BellinghamJude 🏴❤️ pic.twitter.com/a2OUvUX7lv
— England (@England) November 15, 2024
The Real Madrid star shone at the Olympic Stadium on Thursday, where his attitude and aptitude was key in securing the requisite result in a must-win match.
“He always plays with responsibility,” Carsley said. “I know we only see it during games, but he does it in training, he leads by example.
“He’s a really good person to have around because people want to aspire to him and compete with him.
“You’ve seen tonight that there are a level of player coming into the squad who are definitely raising the bar.”
