Call them Lee Carsley’s Kids. There were eight of them, each given an England debut by the interim manager during his six-game stint; moments they will never forget. For the record, here they are, in order of appearance: Angel Gomes, Morgan Gibbs-White, Noni Madueke, Curtis Jones, Lewis Hall, Morgan Rogers, Tino Livramento and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
To Carsley, who knew them all from managing England Under-21s, the job he will now return to, it was easier to trust them. “I did not see it as a gamble,” he said after Sunday’s 5-0 win over Republic of Ireland at Wembley, a result that confirmed England’s promotion back into the Nations League’s A section. “The biggest thing you notice about these young players is their mentality. Any challenge you put in front of them is not too big that they can’t produce. We have seen that. The challenge for them is to get back in March.”
That will be when Thomas Tuchel names his first squad as England manager, beginning his quest for victory at the 2026 World Cup. It will also be when a host of more established players are likely to be available again, taking in those that withdrew from Carsley’s final camp because of fitness concerns, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jack Grealish. The list did not feature those who were already injured and not called up – for example John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo.
Carsley had two objectives in interim charge: Nations League promotion – ideally without the need for a disruptive playoff in March – and to widen the pool of talent for Tuchel. He has ticked both boxes. And yet as Carsley talked about there being a fresher feel to the squad, the question nagged away. Will Tuchel show a similar faith in the kids? It has a rhetorical edge, mainly because of the gun-for-hire feel of Tuchel’s appointment, the one-campaign contract, the talk of World Cup glory or bust. Tuchel will be a manager in a hurry and perhaps not inclined to pick inexperienced players likely to make mistakes as they find their feet.
Tuchel will not ignore young players just because they do not have a lot of caps. In an area such as left-back, for example, where options are limited, it may be that there is room for Hall. Then again, if Shaw can put his injury issues behind him, Tuchel will probably not believe he has a decision to make. Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker or Livramento at right-back? (Do not forget Reece James, another player who has been beset by fitness problems). Maguire or Harwood-Bellis in central defence?
England are surely best stocked in the attacking midfield positions and it is inconceivable that Saka, Foden and Palmer will not return. Grealish will most likely come back, too. Saka or Madueke on the right wing? In terms of the starting role, there is not really a choice. Rogers is up against Anthony Gordon and Grealish on the left, not to mention Foden and Palmer if they were to be used there. Gibbs-White in the No 10 role? Or Jude Bellingham, Foden or Palmer?
Assuming Tuchel looks to Saka on the right and Harry Kane as the striker, his most interesting challenge will be how to accommodate Bellingham, Foden and Palmer. It was the question that Gareth Southgate struggled to answer at Euro 2024; Carsley, too, when he had all three available. It is the Lampard-Gerrard conundrum and talks to the nation’s obsession with big-name players, especially in forward-thinking roles – and the reluctance to play just one. To find a way for two or more.
Carsley had jammed the trio in for the first game against Greece at Wembley last month, albeit when he had room to manoeuvre with Kane out injured. The result was the messy 2-1 defeat upon which Carsley admits he will continue to dwell more than any of his five wins. On the other hand, maybe the Greece debacle was the most instructive of Carsley’s matches for Tuchel as it showed what not to do, silencing, to an extent, the millions of pub England managers around the country. “Yeah, potentially,” Carsley said. “It didn’t feel like it at the time. We probably didn’t have enough time to work on it, and then to expect it just to work.”
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In midfield, Southgate was vexed by who to play alongside Rice at the Euros. After the failed experiment with Alexander-Arnold, it did not work out with Conor Gallagher but was better with Mainoo. Carsley’s introduction of Gomes and Jones has been significant. Could Tuchel see a way back for Mason Mount, a player he counted on at Chelsea?
Carsley returned to an opinion he heard expressed by numerous coaches at Uefa’s Euro 2024 tournament debrief in September – that England’s talent reserves were a headache rather than a tonic. He will never see it that way and perhaps the lesson for Tuchel is about the overall blend; the kids can contribute by firing competition for places, ready to step in if needed.
“A lot of the international coaches at that Uefa thing I went to said: ‘You’ve got a lot of good players’ as if that’s a negative thing,” Carsley said. “If they’re all in form at exactly the same time then it’s a challenge. But players do come in and out of form and it’s putting them in the team when they’re flying and resting them when they’re not.”
