England are back in action at Wembley this evening when they host Greece in their latest Nations League clash.
Interim boss Lee Carsley led the side to wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland during the September international break as the post-Gareth Southgate era began in earnest.
Carsley will use the clash to stake his latest claim for the job on a permanent basis, but will have to make do without skipper Harry Kane, who won’t be risked from the start as he nurses a leg injury. While the absence of England’s all-time leading goalscorer is a blow to Carsley, the former Everton midfielder is set to respond by selecting a bold line-up.
England set to unleash attacking line-up
According to The Times, Carsley’s response to Kane’s absence could see him use Jude Bellingham as a ‘false nine’ in a move that would treat the sold-out capacity Wembley crowd to an attacking line-up that could also see Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon all named in the starting XI.
With Kane unlikely to be risked at all, Manchester City defender John Stones will captain England for the first time. Jack Grealish did not train on Wednesday and may also miss out, which opens the door for Carsley to experiment.
Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke are the like-for-like alternatives for Kane in the current squad, but Bellingham played the false nine role, which can see him drop deeper, to great effect for Real Madrid at the start of last season, as he began his Bernabeu career with a glut of goals before moving back to a more conventional midfield role this season.
For Carsley, the opportunity to utilise England’s glut of in-form attacking players is likely to be tempting as he looks to make his own mark on the Three Lions set-up and distance himself from the criticism his predecessor Gareth Southgate suffered at Euro 2024 over a cautious style of play.
Southgate was unable to get the best out of Foden in the summer, often playing the Manchester City man on the left of a front three, but Carsley indicated that he is set to play centrally.
“Phil’s an unbelievable player,” Carsley said. “We’re very lucky to have someone with his talent and mentality and we need to make sure we put him in positions where he can really affect the opposition.
“That’s where I see him playing — anywhere he can hurt the opposition. Playing him in wider positions, he can do it but we’d have to change the way we play to get the best out of him.
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“He’d be central a lot, wider maybe when we’re out of possession. In central areas, Phil’s at his most effective.”
Carsely is currently in interim charge of England in what is effectively an ongoing audition for the job on a permanent basis. The 50-year-old oversaw wins against the Republic of Ireland and Finland during the September international break and will be hoping that positive performances against Greece and Finland this week and then against Greece and Ireland in November, will be enough to convince the FA that he is the man for the job and make his step up from the under-21s a permanent role.
