Lee Carsley excited to lead England at Wembley and planning to ‘freshen team up’

Interim boss Lee Carsley is excited to be managing at Wembley for the time and plans changes to freshen things up as England face Finland in the Nations League.

The Euro 2024 finalists started life without Gareth Southgate with a win away to the Republic of Ireland on Saturday as Declan Rice and Jack Grealish ignored the boo boys to score at a rocking Aviva Stadium.

England’s performance was more dominant than Saturday’s 2-0 scorelines suggests, with another comprehensive win expected on Tuesday against the lowest ranked side in Group B2.

Carsley liked what he saw from his players in Dublin and wants to build on that as he tweaks the team in his first match coaching at the national stadium.

“It’s not something I’ve thought about until recently,” the 50-year-old said.

“It was a really proud moment the other day to be on the sideline, and another great night hopefully for the players on Tuesday night.

“Really looking forward to the game. We’ve had another couple of good sessions (since) the last match, so I’m excited by it.

“We’ll make two or three changes, freshen the team up a little bit.

“But what I’ve noticed with this group is how motivated they are to do well.

“We should really look forward to playing at home, especially at Wembley, on a pitch like that, in a venue like that, so, yeah, looking forward to the game.”

Carsley knows he needs to strike the right balance in terms of sending out the correct signal, selecting a strong enough team and protecting some players.

Angel Gomes and Morgan Gibbs-White are pushing for their first senior starts having made their debuts in Dublin, while uncapped Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento are hoping to make their bows.

“I think that they’ve all got a chance of playing,” Carsley said. “I think the level that the players have trained at puts everyone in with the chance of getting minutes or starting the game.

“We’ve been very fortunate this week that having lost the three lads (Ollie Watkins, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden) quite early, we were lucky to keep everyone else fit and ready for action.”

England lost their most recent match at Wembley against Iceland in a pre-Euros friendly and Carsley wants to give fans something to enjoy
against Finland.

“I still want to see us playing with that control,” he said. “I think it’s important that we’re exciting to watch.

“I think when fans come watch England play at home they expect attacking football, they expect chances to be created and to play with a tempo and us to be on the ball.

“So, yeah, I wouldn’t see that being any different (on Tuesday).”

Tuesday’s Nations League match will see Harry Kane make his 100th appearance, with the England captain to be presented with a golden cap to mark the achievement before the game.

“I’ve only worked with him now for seven days, but straight away you can see how motivated he is, how committed he is, how much of a good example he is around the players,” Carsley said.

“Every single session he’s the first out and to have that kind of example for younger players coming through is testament to him and his motivation.

“We spoke on the phone when I was confirmed for the job, and you could tell straight away how motivated he was to win a major tournament with England, which is brilliant for whoever comes in.”