Interim boss Lee Carsley says England have the talent and experience to win the World Cup in two years but believes their approach needs to change to do so.
Gareth Southgate came closer than any manager since Sir Alf Ramsey to leading the men’s team to silverware, finishing runners-up in back-to-back European Championships.
Runs to the World Cup semi-finals and quarter-finals underlined England’s place among the best, but Carsley is “really wary of the fact the last time we won something was 1966″.
The under-21s boss confirmed ahead of Sunday’s Nations League match in Finland he did not formally apply for the job of senior team manager but believes whoever is appointed has “a really good chance of winning”.
Asked if he felt England can finally get their hands on a trophy at the 2026 World Cup, Carsley nodded and immediately said: “Yeah, I think the past potentially is a good indicator of the future.
“We’ve got quite a few players now that are currently in the squad and around the squad that have won a lot with England (at age-group level). They’ve felt that before.
“You know, they come to St George’s (Park), they come on England camps and they’re used to winning and they’re used to being in the latter stages of competitions and being successful. I think that can only be a good thing for us.
“If you think back to that Germany team and the Spain team that were really successful at the younger age groups that came through, I think potentially we could be coming into a period of that ilk.
“I’m not saying that…I mean, we’ve been so close in the past and with a bit more luck or belief on our side it could have been different.
“But as we stand at the minute it’s not, so I believe that we could be coming into a phase of that kind of success.”
Germany won the 2014 World Cup with a number of players that had triumphed at the European Under-21 Championship five years earlier, with Euro 2024 winners Spain similarly benefiting from their age-level successes.
England’s 22-man squad in Finland has 13 players that have tasted glory as part of development teams, including five members of Carsley’s triumphant side at the 2023 Under-21 Euros.
That side reflected their manager’s attack-minded approach, which went too far on Thursday as Greece capitalised on the imbalance of a team with five attackers but no out-and-out striker.
“I could see it being quite easy just to go with the same squad and the same players and almost, not doing the same thing, but not trying as many things,” Carsley said after Thursday’s 2-1 Wembley loss.
“Your human instinct is to be safe, to go with things that you’re comfortable with, but it was important that in this period I felt that I have to be out of my comfort zone.
“I have to try something because we’ve got to put ourselves in a position where we can win and to think that we can just do the same again and expect something different I think is naive.
“So I totally accept all of the criticism. I’m glad it was directed towards me, not the players, and we move on.”
When asked if much change is needed bearing in mind England reached successive Euros finals, he said: “We’re not that far away. We have been close twice.
“It was important that I put my own stamp on the team and the squad and tried something different because the understanding is that unless it changes, it won’t change. It was more little tweaks than wholesale.”
Carsley was in defiant mood on the eve of facing Finland, saying he was “here to fight again” after the chastening Wembley loss.
The interim boss says his son Connor being born with Down’s Syndrome helped teach him to keep things in perspective, with his focus on England’s progress rather than his own position.
“The last thing that is important to me in this whole process is me,” said Carsley, who according to reports does not want to succeed Southgate on a permanent basis.
“The reason I believe I have done so well in coaching is because people know that it’s not about me. It’s about the players, it’s about the environment, it’s about the culture.
“If I do try something different, they can see I’m trying it out of trying to get the best out of the team or the individual rather than myself.
“I don’t see this as an audition. I don’t see it as the biggest chance I have ever had. I see it as a privilege. I see it as an unbelievable responsibility.
“I have got three more games left, I want to try to make sure that the squad are in a really good position, that we have seen different players play in different positions and we are in a healthy position.”