Lee Carsley makes bold change to England lineup as he seeks Phil Foden and Cole Palmer solutions
Interim England boss Lee Carsley knows he needs to get Phil Foden scoring for his country like he does for his club, while there is also a desire to see the Manchester City star in the same lineup as Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer
by Alex Richards · The MirrorInterim England boss Lee Carsley opted to replace Harry Kane for England’s Nations League clash with Greece by going WITHOUT a striker.
Three Lions skipper Kane missed the match at Wembley after picking up an injury during Bayern Munich's Bundesliga match on Sunday, limping off early during the 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.
And Carsley, in the third game of his tenure after replacing Gareth Southgate following his exit after the Euro 2024 Final, went with the bold decision of not calling on either Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins or Tottenham ’s Dominic Solanke - his two central striking options other than Kane - and instead chose to go with a flexible front five.
That meant starts for ALL of Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, the 2024 England player of the year.
Carsley selected Jordan Pickford in goal with Trent Alexander-Arnold continuing at right-back having been excellent in the matches last month. Manchester City ’s Rico Lewis started at left-back with his City colleague John Stones wearing the captain’s armband and leading the side out for the first time. Interestingly, Stones was partnered at the heart of defence not by Marc Guehi, but instead by Chelsea's Levi Colwill, who has impressed in the early part of the season at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal's Declan Rice took up his usual spot in front of the back four, but then Carsley was opting for flexibility as England’s friend in attack.
Much has been made of Palmer’s rise and how could he, Real Madrid ace Bellingham and Foden all be used in the same starting lineup. With Saka and Gordon keenest to play from wide, the trio were handed their chance as a central attacking triumvirate - with Carsley desperate to get Foden amongst the goals for his country, having only scored four times in his first 41 caps.
“I’ve worked with Phil for a while,”said Carsley on Wednesday. It’s been a few years but I spent a lot of time with him at City with the Under 18s and in the Under 21s.
“Phil’s an unbelievable player, we’re very lucky to have someone with his talent and mentality and we need to make sure we put him in positions where he can really affect the opposition. That’s where I see playing – anywhere he can hurt the opposition.
“Sometimes playing him in wider positions, he can do it but we’d have to change the way we play to get the best out of him. He’d be central a lot, wider maybe when we’re out of possession. I think in central areas Phil’s at his most effective.”
England Starting Lineup: (4-3-3): Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Colwill, Lewis; Rice, Foden, Palmer; Saka, Gordon, Bellingham.
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