Lee Carsley will return to a “conventional” formation against Finland on Sunday after the England interim manager’s tactical tweak backfired in their shock loss to Greece.
Carsley’s decision to deploy five attacking midfielders and no recognised striker at Wembley on Thursday proved a mistake as England were beaten by Greece for the first time ever. It was an embarrassing blow to the Euro 2024 finalists’ hopes of securing promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League. Carsley’s hopes of taking over from Gareth Southgate on a permanent basis also took a hit after his selection faux pas sparked boos when the final whistle sounded on the 2-1 loss.
Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden played as false nines in the absence of injured skipper Harry Kane, but the Bayern Munich striker is available to face Finland as Carsley goes back to basics. “I think it’s always tough, the scrutiny that we’re under. It’s nothing that I’m not used to having been a professional footballer for such a long time,” Carsley told reporters on Saturday. “I think the reaction is fair enough. You have to respect people’s opinions. We didn’t perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction tomorrow night.
“I think it’s something that I’ll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it. “I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn’t want to have any regrets.” He added: “It was important that we do try something different at times and I think I’ll be a better coach for that, but I think we’ll probably be a little bit more conventional tomorrow night.”
– ‘Very difficult’ –
Adding to Carsley’s problems, injured Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has left the camp, and Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has flown home due to a personal matter. Saka limped off against Greece and returned to Arsenal for assessment ahead of their Premier League clash with Bournemouth next weekend.
A sell-out crowd awaits Carsley at the Olympiastadion as England make their first visit to Finland since interim manager Howard Wilkinson oversaw a 0-0 draw in Helsinki 24 years ago. England have not lost in 12 previous meetings with Finland and beat them at Wembley in Carsley’s second game in charge in September.
“We’re very respectful of the team,” he said. “We found it very difficult at Wembley to break the team down, especially in the first 45 minutes. “I think they’ll feel quite confident that they can stifle us and it’s a team that we feel very well prepared for.” Finland are the lowest ranked team in England’s Nations League group and Thursday’s 2-1 home loss to the Republic of Ireland means they have yet to register a point. England are three points behind group leaders Greece and cannot afford to lose any more ground ahead of next month’s clash in Athens.
“Promotion was the objective that was set out at the start of the campaign. It’s one that we’re heading towards. Really important,” said Carsley, who stepped up from his role as England Under-21 coach when Southgate resigned after the Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain. “The qualification for the World Cup is something that is also a priority, so it’s important that we get back on track.”
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