Lee Carsley’s reign as England’s interim manager has not been without its obstacles, but the most impressive performance of his reign may just have made the road to succession a lot smoother for incoming coach Thomas Tuchel.
The low point of Carsley’s time in charge, which will end after the Uefa Nations League meeting with the Republic Of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday, was the fiasco of the home defeat to Greece in October, a loss mainly engineered by his own madcap, non-striker, team selection.
Redemption and revenge for Carsley, along with a list of positives he can hand over to Tuchel, came in the shape this stylish win here in Greece, where the vast crowd inside Athens’ Olympic Stadium was silent – not to mention largely absent – by the end of England’s 3-0 win.
The margin of victory means England’s fate in League B Group 2 is in their own hands. Beat the Republic Of Ireland and they will be back in the top tier, sparing Tuchel the possibility of a play-off in March.
As with much of Carsley’s reign, England entered this Athens hothouse with sub-plots in the background, this time the nine withdrawals from the squad which was met with a critical public response from the normally strictly-on-message captain Harry Kane.
Ironically, Kane was left on the bench in favour of Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins in a brave selection call which brought instant dividends with the opening goal after seven minutes.
It put England on the way to triumph, confirmed late on by a second goal when Jude Bellingham’s shot bounced in off Greece keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, then a flash of genius from debutant Curtis Jones.
And it also means that Tuchel, who starts in the role on 1 January, he actually inherits a positions he will regard as healthy on many levels.
The desperately poor Greek performance in front of their own feverish fans, such a sharp contrast to their outstanding efforts at Wembley, must provide context to the assessment of England’s own display.
But after so many questions and criticism, it would be churlish in the extreme to not give great credit after the manner of England’s performance here.
It was, in many respects, perfect, and while Carsley downplayed Kane’s open criticism of England’s absentees, there will surely be great satisfaction from the manager that these three points were deservedly earned after his squad was decimated by injuries.
Carsley said: “There is a generation that expects to win in an England shirt that can only be good for the future.
“I think we have shown that we have so many quality players. The biggest challenge is fitting them all in. We played with balance.
“Players come in and out of form. A lot of good performances tonight and hopefully we see the same at Wembley.”
England’s understudies and new caps stood up to be counted – and Liverpool’s 23-year-old midfielder Jones provided the high point of the night seven minutes from time, capping a top-class first senior appearance in joyous style.
He had already shown rare confidence in possession when he produced a memorable, magical moment, audaciously flicking a Morgan Gibbs-White cross past Vlachodimos with the inside of his right heel.
If there was any evidence needed as to whether Jones feels comfortable at this level, then that provided it.
Carsley gave a first cap to Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall, a position that is opening up for England, as a half-time substitute for Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, while Morgan Rogers was introduced for his international bow after 66 minutes.
He came on to replace Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon, who grows in stature with every England game, while Chelsea winger Noni Madueke provided genuine threat and set up Watkins’ goal.
Watkins against showed he can score goals for England, as he did in the Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands, while other established internationals will have had plus marks against their names when Carsley hands his reports over to Tuchel.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford remains a model of consistency, once again producing a crucial save from Fotis Ioannidis, while Bellingham strode around the Olympic Stadium with the sort of confident swagger that has been missing for England and Real Madrid in recent times.
This was Bellingham at his best, almost impossible to control with his movement, troubling Greece with his range of passing while also embarking on constant surged into areas of danger.
This had all the signs of a potentially troubling evening for England given their own recent indifferent displays, the noise around Carsley and the increasing questions about why Tuchel was delaying his arrival until 1 January.
In the end, an inexperienced and makeshift team made the task look relatively easy.
The Greece fans had their sense of expectation whipped up by presentations before kick-off to the players who stunned the football world by winning Euro 2004 in Portugal. The squad were paraded to celebrate the 20th anniversary of that triumph, joined by their legendary coach, 86-year-old “King Otto” Rehhagel.
England subdued the atmosphere from the start, mixing calm possession with pace in attack, especially down the flanks, setting the tone for Carsley’s finest night.
The normally impassive Carsley finally let his emotions out after the final whistle, joining the celebrations with his players, beaming as he wrapped an equally elated Jones in a bearhug.
Carsley has occasionally looked uncomfortable in his lofty position, but this was a vital moment for him and England, so he fully deserved to relish it.
If he can finish his six-match run with that crucial win at Wembley on Sunday, suddenly the negativity that has characterised the latter part of his time will be replaced a more positive gloss when Tuchel finally arrives to begin his 18-month contract at the turn of the year.
