Lee Carsley evaded questions over whether he wants the England job on a permanent basis following a chaotic 2-1 defeat against Greece by suggesting that he would be happy to return to the under-21s when his interim role ends.
After a night of confusion on and off the pitch at Wembley, the waters were further muddied when Carsley made the surprising admission that he would “hopefully” soon be back in charge of the U21 side.
The caretaker manager had already accepted the blame for implementing the tactics that saw England, who lie in second place in Nations League Group B2, lose to Greece for the first time in their history. Carsley’s attempt to cram Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden did not work and he got himself in a tangle while considering whether he has already blown his audition, even though he won his first two games in charge last month.
“I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of the job’s mine and it’s mine to lose and all the rest of it,” the 50-year-old said. “My remit has been clear. I’m doing three camps, there’s three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the 21s. It’s had almost no impact.”
Carsley, who stepped into the senior role following Gareth Southgate’s departure, was asked to clarify his comments on three more occasions. “I said at the start I wouldn’t rule myself in or out,” he continued. “That’s still the case. I’m more than comfortable in my position, where I am. The remit was clear. I’m comfortable and confident with that. After the first camp I didn’t get too excited or believe too much. I’m very aware that this job is one of the best jobs in the world.
“Nothing’s changed. My remit was to do the three camps and then to hand over. Nothing’s changed in what I said in the first press conference. It’s a fantastic job. I’m lucky I’ve got a good job as it is in the 21s. But after the first camp when we won two games and had two good performances nothing changed. It’s important that I give it everything I’ve got for the next three games. I’m really happy and comfortable with the communication I have with my bosses. Nothing’s changed in that respect.”
Carsley tried to be creative in the absence of the injured Harry Kane, playing Bellingham as a false nine, Foden as a No 10 and Palmer in a deeper role in midfield. The system was muddled, though, and Greece repeatedly sliced through England’s midfield.
The visitors had three goals disallowed for offside and they responded brilliantly to a late, undeserved equaliser from Bellingham, whose advanced role meant that Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke were on the bench. A famous victory for Greece, who are three points clear of at the top of the group, was secured thanks to a ruthless double from Vangelis Pavlidis.
“I didn’t think we started the game great,” Carsley said. “I thought we were second best. We tried something different with the formation. We never gave ourselves a chance to see if it was the right decision or wrong.
“I think with the players we’ve got we’ve got to be courageous at times with our systems and be creative. I could have easily gone with a nine – we had two on the bench. I’m happy to take the blame. It was totally my idea. It didn’t come off tonight. It was a case of being a little bit creative.
“We tried something different, we tried to overload the midfield, play a little bit differently. It’s something we tried for 20 minutes yesterday, it’s something we experimented with and it was disappointing that it didn’t come off. But I think it was probably unrealistic to expect too much and I think it’s a case of trying again.”
Bukayo Saka will be assessed after limping off with a muscle injury shortly after Greece’s first goal. The winger is a major doubt for England’s trip to Finland on Sunday.
