- Lee Carsley’s bold calls paid off as England convincingly beat Greece in Athens
- Noni Madueke was the best player on the pitch as he took his chance to impress
- Is Harry Kane right to blast England drop-outs? LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Available wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes every Monday and Thursday
They were streaming out of the Olympic Stadium with almost ten minutes remaining here. They came hoping to see a callow England team lie down. Instead this proved to be the reawakening of Lee Carsley’s spell as interim manager.
Carsley needed a win by two here for his team to assert some kind of control in the Nations League. It was a squeak at times. The save the excellent Jordan Pickford made from substitute Fotis Ioannidis with the score at 1-0 with 20 minutes to go was exceptional and pivotal. But in the end Carsley got one more goal than he needed and destiny has now been returned to his own hands.
We should be pleased for him too. We wondered when he chose bold teams for early group games – most notably the one that was lost to Greece at Wembley – whether he was doing it by way of auditioning for the job in the long-term. Now we know that wasn’t the case.
Here, with incoming manager Thomas Tuchel watching at home – we hope – Carsley trusted his instincts again. No Harry Kane was a big call. So was the selection of two flyers out wide in Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke. They all paid off. Kane’s replacement Ollie Watkins scored after seven minutes while Chelsea’s Madueke was the game’s best player.
So Carsley has his head up once again and he deserves that. None of this has been easy for him but a win against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday will allow him to pass the baton to Tuchel with no regrets.
During his tenancy, England’s interim manager has preached the values of attacking football. All that threatened to fly out of the window when what turned out to be an overly ambitious selection led to embarrassment against the Greeks at Wembley. But Carsley said he would remain true to his values and has been as good as his word. If Tuchel takes anything at all from Carsley’s spell of six games then it may well be the value of consistent thought.
Lee Carsley made some big calls and they paid off as England comfortably beat Greece
Carsley put his faith in young players after a nightmare loss to Greece at Wembley last month, and Noni Madueke was the best player on the pitch
Carsley will be able to hand over to Thomas Tuchel with no regrets when the German takes up the permanent manager’s position in January
This was an England team that looked vulnerable on paper. With so many senior players missing, it was some decision by Carsley to leave his captain out. Equally it was strange how much criticism that one drew.
Gareth Southgate spent all summer hearing people say Kane should be dropped as England toiled through the Euros. Proof if it were needed that managing England guarantees you criticism and not much else.
Watkins’s early goal settled that debate down at least. It was laid on a plate for him by Madueke, who was excellent all night.
The Greece left-back Kostas Tsimikas is generally impressive as Andy Robertson’s deputy at Liverpool. Here he looked terrified. Madueke was able to stand him up and go by him almost at will. When the 22-year-old did so to set up Watkins for the goal it was not the first time.
Not long after that moment, Madueke was given clear ground in which to run by a Jude Bellingham pass. As Tsimikas tried in vain to keep pace with his opponent, he turned to look for help from a team-mate. There was none forthcoming. Madueke was gone once again.
It was interesting and unusual to see England set up like this. With Madueke on the right side of Carsley’s 4-2-3-1 and Gordon on the left, England had two traditional wingers in their line up.
It wasn’t quite John Barnes and Chris Waddle from the 1990s but it was certainly a contrast to the more intricate patterns usually weaved by the likes of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and, more recently, Cole Palmer. Food for thought for Tuchel.
Straight line runners have fallen out of fashion rather in modern football. There are not many of them in the Premier League. Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze is perhaps of similar ilk and maybe Marcus Rashford when he is at his best. But to see two in one England team felt different and for periods here it was noticeably effective.
Greece were rather strange opponents who seemed to lack the confidence or maybe the strategy to worry England on the break as they had at Wembley. They didn’t do anything at all for 25 minutes and then they almost scored.
Curtis Jones scored on his debut and was embraced by Carsley after the final whistle
Ollie Watkins also scored after being picked ahead of Harry Kane as every Carsley call came good
The second half was similar. They played only in patches but when they did play they worried England. Pickford was on his mettle throughout and he had to be. He remains our best goalkeeper by a distance.
With the score at 1-0 and with Greece pushing and the crowd engaged, we were also reminded of the worth of this competition. This certainly beats playing friendlies.
It is one thing for players such as Curtis Jones, Lewis Hall and Morgan Rogers to make a debut here. Quite another for them to take their first international steps in a game they knew had to be won.
Kane says international football is more important than playing for your club and that is a contentious view. Especially when you play for a country that has made not winning anything a habit. This did feel as though it meant something. As such, it was a useful night for England and a redemptive one for their temporary coach.
