Lee Carsley warns Thomas Tuchel he faces 'real challenge' picking next England squad after Three Lions thrash Ireland

Carsley officially undertook his final match on the touchline as England's interim boss as the Three Lions battered Ireland in a 5-0 win at Wembley Stadium. Tuchel will soon take charge as the head coach of the side when he begins his stint at the turn of the year, and Carsley has warned the German that picking a squad from the pool of players available to him will be a difficult job.

When asked about Tuchel taking over, Carsley said: “It’s a job that deserves an elite coach with a track record of winning and Thomas has got that. 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.

“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.

“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 is now set to return to his original job as the head coach of England's U21 side, and the 50-year-old has said that he is going to be available to aid Tuchel with his takeover and will leave a dossier for the German. He also revealed that he is likely to meet the former Chelsea boss over the next few weeks in person.

Casley told the media: “I’m trying to put together, with the rest of the staff, a debrief on all three camps. 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.”

The 50-year-old has been asked multiple times over the course of his stint as England manager whether he has plans to return to the senior management side of the national team, and the same was the case this time. He replied: “I think the positive thing is that we’ve shown as a staff that we can do it. 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.”