Lee Carsley relives "iconic" England moment as fans make feelings clear on interim boss
England will take on Greece at Wembley with David Beckham's iconic goal resurfacing once more with Lee Carsley's new look Three Lions attracting a sellout crowd in the capital
by Samuel Meade · The MirrorLee Carsley remembers David Beckham’s goal as being an “iconic” moment for England.
Twenty three years later, England face Greece again in what could be another pivotal game for interim boss Carsley’s chances of getting the job on a permanent basis. Remarkably, Wembley has sold out for the Nations League game on Thursday night and 10,000 travel club members tried to buy tickets for England’s 3,500 allocation for next month's away trip in Athens.
It would appear England fans have bought into Carsball and now this is his biggest game since Gareth Southgate quit as Three Lions boss after the Euros. England have won their first two Nations League Group games. Greece have done the same. The top two now have a shoot-out and Carsley knows that as long as England do not mess up, then the job will be his.
Back in October 6, 2001, England just needed a point against Greece at Old Trafford and Beckham’s last-gasp free-kick secured a 2-2 draw and their place at the World Cup.
Carsley, meanwhile, was playing for Republic of Ireland against Cyprus on that day and he came on as a 64th-minute substitute in a 4-0 win at Lansdowne Road. Ireland also qualified for the 2002 World Cup after beating Iran in a play-off. Now this is another huge moment in Carsley’s career and, while he is anxious to dismiss the idea it is a six game audition, the stakes are pretty high.
Carsley said: “It was an iconic goal and celebration. I only realised the other day that was to draw – it wasn’t a winning goal! I do remember. I was away on international duty in 2001. I definitely watched the game but I’m not sure when because of the kick-off times and so on.
“But it was an excellent goal and was to qualify for the 2002 World Cup which Ireland were at as well, which was a brilliant experience. It does feel like another big game. The fact that Wembley’s a sell out is brilliant for us, it’s exciting, it’s a brilliant challenge. It’ll be my second ever game at Wembley which I’m really looking forward to.”
Carsley, 50, is in pole position because the Football Association want to give him the job as it would be recognition of him winning the under-21 Euros, coming through the St George’s Park pathway and also promoting young players. Clearly, there are options if it does not work as Newcastle boss Eddie Howe would be keen and Graham Potter is out of work.
But if England beat Greece at Wembley, Carsley can effectively circle the date in his diary of Friday, December 13, for the World Cup draw in Geneva. It is his job to lose. And a big part of that is style because Carsley wants a free-flowing, attacking brand of football while he also wants to utilise his squad to the full.
That has meant trusting Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back, using Levi Colwill and Rico Lewis in defence in a very adaptable and fluent line-up. Angel Gomes got a chance last month.
Carsley’s line-up is likely to be far more unpredictable, far more attacking and arguably more entertaining. Southgate was brilliant for England but was more pragmatic. Carsley’s says his approach will also have to be different depending on the opponent.
Carsley added: “Any team that I’ve coached I’ve tried to get a variation of attacks rather than be too predictable to play against. Ultimately you want to have control of the game and you want to score goals and you want to attack.
“The last two games we have come up against teams who have defended on the edge of their areas so having pace in forward areas hasn’t been a necessity. But it's definitely important to have variation within the attacks and it definitely makes the opposition think about it.
“We’ve got players who are very quick, quite unpredictable in the way that they are playing and players who are in form as well so it’s good for us.”
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