- Carsley raised eyebrows with comments after Thursday night’s defeat to Greece
- He will lead the team for at least three more games this year
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The Football Association has major reservations about whether current England interim head coach Lee Carsley wants the job on a permanent basis.
The governing body wanted to review the situation after the Nations League matches against Greece and Ireland in November, both of which Carsley is expected to be in charge.
But there have been major internal doubts in recent days over whether Carsley wants the role, after he ‘hopefully’ said he can return to the Under-21s once his interim period is over.
If England lose on Sunday, the damage done could be irreversible.
Nevertheless, there is skepticism emerging within the FA over Carsley’s appetite for the job, especially after his comments in recent days.
The FA has major reservations about whether Lee Carsley wants the full-time England job
Three Lions interim boss raised eyebrows when he said he would ‘hopefully’ return to his Under-21s role
England remain on the hunt for a replacement for Gareth Southgate following his departure at the end of Euro 2024
Carsley has the support of the FA, but his refusal to publicly state that he wants the job on a full-time basis has led to a feeling that he is not entirely convinced he wants to take the job permanently.
Meanwhile, Carsley has firmly defended his tenacious approach in the embarrassing loss to Greece, but is still considering big changes against Finland.
Interim head coach Carsley has been harshly criticized for his team selection since England suffered a defeat at Wembley on Thursday night, but came out on Saturday to justify his controversial tactics.
Nevertheless, the 50-year-old plans as many as five changes to the ultra-attacking side that lost to Greece, with Phil Foden and Anthony Gordon sweating among the players.
There are also indications in training that Trent Alexander-Arnold, a right-back by trade, could play on the other flank.
Harry Kane, Jack Grealish, Angel Gomes, Marc Guehi and Kyle Walker are among the players who could make it into Carsley’s squad as the head coach looks to add balance to his line-up.
However, Carsley is adamant he has no regrets about his previous team selection, insisting England must push themselves out of their comfort zone if they are to end the 58-year famine.
Concerns have been raised following Carsley’s comments about England’s defeat to Greece
However, he is adamant that he has no regrets about his selection of the attacking team for the match
‘I understand the interest and the criticism, and that’s fine. “I’m very wary of the fact that the last time we won anything was in 1966, so we have to have the ability to try something different,” Carsley said.
‘Would I change anything? Maybe. Obviously I would change the result. But it doesn’t stop me. I don’t want to sit back in a month’s time and regret that I was safe. This is a great opportunity, not only for myself, but also for the rest of the staff and players to try something different.
‘Just going with the same team and the same players and hardly doing the same thing, but not trying so many things.
‘Your human instinct is to be safe, to deal with things that you feel comfortable with, but it was important that during this period I felt like I had to get out of my comfort zone, I have to try something because we have to put ourselves in a position where we can win.
“It’s naive to think we can just do the same thing again and expect something different.”
ENG (possible) vs. Finland: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trent; Rice, Gomes; Palmer, Bellingham, Grealish; Kane.