Lee Carsley predicted that competition for places in Thomas Tuchel’s first squad will be fiercer than ever, after his stint as England’s interim head coach ended with a 5-0 thrashing of the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League.
Carsley, who said there was relief at returning to the top tier of the Uefa competition, can take pride in fulfilling his brief before stepping aside for Tuchel in the new year. The 50-year-old has used the Nations League campaign to blood a host of youngsters and the growing talent pool was clear as England, who could begin 2026 World Cup qualifying in March, clinched top spot in Group B2 by demolishing 10-man Ireland.
“It’s a job that deserves an elite coach with a track record of winning and Thomas has got that,” Carsley 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.”
The win ensures Tuchel will not have a Nations League playoff in March, although the schedule depends on how next month’s World Cup qualifying draw plays out.
Harry Kane opened the scoring from the spot after returning to the starting lineup and there were first international goals for Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Conor Gallagher. Tino Livramento made his debut at right-back and Lewis Hall was handed his first start at left-back.
“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,” Carsley said. “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. Gaining a cap is no mean feat.”
Carsley will conduct a handover with Tuchel before returning to his primary role as manager of the under-21s. “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-21 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.
“One of the most pleasing things is the way that the senior players have reacted to a new coach, even though it was from a short-term point of view. We’ve tried to change the style. There’s been no resistance to that.
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“I think it’s important that myself and the staff now spend a good couple of days thinking about the three camps and what we could have done better. I’m still gutted about the Greece game at home. Even though we’ve won five of the six, I straight away go to the game that I think we should have won at Wembley. It’s definitely a lonely place in that dugout when you’re not winning at Wembley.”
Carsley was asked if he would be interested in the senior role again. “I think the positive thing is that we’ve shown as a staff that we can do it,” he said. “It’s always a positive thing when you have coaches in the building that are capable. The relief of getting promotion is a big thing, so maybe in a couple of days I’ll look back at it and think it’s been quite enjoyable.”
