England are now up and running under interim manager Lee Carsley and 2-0 wins over Republic of Ireland and Finland in the UEFA Nations League have seemingly strengthened his case to become Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor.
The Three Lions’ two performances under Carsley have been of a mixed bag but there have been plenty of positives to take, especially considering he had to plan without the help of sidelined trio Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.
The Three Lions, who were runners-up to Spain at Euro 2024, are 7/1 to go one better at the World Cup in two years time and Carsley must be feeling pretty confident that he will be the one leading them into battle.
Youth should get their chance to shine
Carsley graduated via England’s Under-21s, which was the same scenario for Southgate, and his highlight was winning the European Championship in 2023.
The 50-year-old has already tried to put his stamp on his England squad and has hinted at taking a different route to Southgate by offering a guiding hand to the youngsters he brings into the set up.
Angel Gomes, formerly of Manchester United and now with Lille, was handed his first start in England’s 2-0 victory over Finland at Wembley on Tuesday and the 24-year-old had a fine debut.
Southgate may have stuck to what he knew rather than going against the grain and opting for players who ply their trade abroad.
Manchester City’s Rico Lewis, Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, Newcastle’s Tino Livramento and Chelsea’s Noni Madueke were also amongst those given call-ups for the Nations League double-header and it shows Carsley is determined to not take the simple approach and maximise his options.
With the World Cup still two years away, all of the aforementioned players will have two more seasons of development ahead of them.
Given this, England should be very well placed to go far in the next World Cup, with their odds of 7/1 looking strong at this point.
Alexander-Arnold will be given full support
Carsley gave Trent Alexander-Arnold his full support as England’s chief right-back against Ireland and Finland and he was instantly rewarded, with TAA showing the form he regularly produces for Liverpool for his country.
The victory over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium was the first time since 2021 that Alexander-Arnold had started an England game at right-back and he had more touches than any other player, while also playing a key role in a goal in that game and doing the same against Finland.
Alexander-Arnold wasn’t trusted defensively by Southgate, but Carsley has talked up what he can do rather than what he cannot and he looks determined to maximise his influence from what is undoubtedly his best position.
Starting a player like Trent game in, game out will be a huge positive for England going forward, with their odds now down to 1/25 to win their Nations League group.
Carsley has plenty of trust in Gordon
Despite being one of England’s form players heading into Euro 2024, Anthony Gordon was given just six minutes to show his worth by Southgate in Germany..
Carsley has already boycotted that decision by giving Gordon 77 minutes in Ireland and 66 more against Finland, suggesting that he could be a key player for England in the years to come given he is still only 23 and has the attributes few in his department have.
Gordon was the star man in Carsley's U21 Euro-winning side and the Newcastle winger’s pace, guile and desire means we are sure to see plenty more of him in an England shirt in upcoming fixtures.
Given Carsley's faith shown in Gordon, expect him to continue to call up players he trusted during his time at U21 manager.
With this in mind, England might not be worth backing to win the next U21's Euros given all their best players look set to get first team chances under the former Everton player.