Lee Carsley was proud of the way England took control of their Nations League destiny and praised “great example” Harry Kane after surprisingly dropping the skipper for the must-win match in Greece.
The interim boss’ bold selection backfired in the reverse fixture at Wembley, where the visitors’ historic 2-1 win helped put them in control of Group B2 heading into Thursday’s Olympic Stadium encounter.
Greece knew they would seal automatic promotion to the Nations League top tier with a match to spare if they avoided defeat, in the process consigning England to the play-offs in Thomas Tuchel’s first camp.
Carsley once again raised eyebrows with his selection as he named Kane on the bench, but replacement Ollie Watkins scored early into a win wrapped up by a Odysseas Vlachodimos own goal and Curtis Jones’ beautiful flick.
The 3-0 victory takes England ahead of Greece thanks to superior head-to-head record, meaning victory against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley in Carsley’s final match will see them promoted.
“I think it was important,” the interim boss said of the win. “We spoke yesterday about matching their energy and enthusiasm.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game. We saw that at Wembley, so it was important, like I spoke about, to attack and to try and be as creative as we could.
“The most pleasing thing about tonight was the amount of control that we played with. The shape of the team was really good. We had a lot of possession, created a lot of chances.
“It was brilliant for Ollie to get a goal. It’s important that I think if we are going to put these players in a position where we are going to go and win the World Cup then these players need to have as many experiences as they can.
“So, it was no slight on Harry. He’ll start the next game and I think a lot of positives to take from that performance.”
Asked about Kane’s reaction to being named on the bench, Carsley said: “He was absolutely fine. It would be fair to say he wants to play every game, like all top players do.
“I think he understands that it’s important that other players experience that kind of experience that we had tonight.
“He’s a great example to the rest of the players and I expect him to start on Sunday and play well.”
Kane will be desperate to make a point against the Republic on Sunday, but the England captain saw the bigger picture after the Athens triumph.
“What a shift from all the boys! Massive win to have the group in our hands,” he posted on X. “Congrats Lewis (Hall), Morgan (Rogers) and Curtis on your debuts.”
It was a solid all-round display on what could have been a tricky night in Greece, where Carsley says he took no personal satisfaction from his decisions to start Watkins and hand Jones his debut paid off.
“No, none at all, to be fair,” the interim boss said. “None at all.
“I see the quality that the players have got. You’re now seeing it in terms of the younger ones, that they’re more than capable with the mentality and the quality that they’ve got to play in stages like tonight.
“I thought a lot of the players, especially the younger ones – well, all of the players, to be fair – played with such quality tonight.
“Think about the two wide players, Anthony (Gordon) and Noni (Madueke), so attacking, so direct. Lewis Hall coming on at half-time, Rico (Lewis). You know, the age of these players.
“There’s a lot, a lot of positives. Curtis was outstanding tonight. I thought he played with quality, played with a matureness that I’ve seen.
“We saw it in the summer, we played him in that deeper role. He’s playing a different role for Liverpool, so he showed that he can adapt and he is intelligent enough to know where the space is.
“I thought Jude (Bellingham) was really good as well tonight. Him, Conor (Gallagher) and Curtis had a really good combination together in terms of the spaces that that we thought that we might be able to find.
“We did during the game which caused Greece problems, so a lot of positives tonight.”