England’s interim manager Lee Carsley was grateful to the golden boots and golden goals of captain Harry Kane to strengthen his case to become Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor.
Kane deservedly took centre stage on the night of his 100th cap, almost inevitably scoring twice in a ruthless display of finishing to give England victory over stubborn Finland in the Uefa Nations League and make it two wins from two for Carsley.
For the low-key Carsley, in his trademark England tracksuit and admitting he still feels uncomfortable with his new lofty status, Kane’s contribution was as precious as the striker’s footwear as his unblemished start in charge continues.
Carsley has never got carried away in his career and in this case context must be applied, even though six points from six is the return he would have craved when he was handed the reins for the early days of the post-Southgate era.
He has been presented with opposition ranging from desperately poor against the Republic Of Ireland to game but very limited in the shape of Finland, England taking 57 minutes to finally turn an overwhelming weight of possession into Kane’s thumping first strike, to which he added another 14 minutes before the end.
Carsley’s cause – and we must assume he wants to be the next England manager even though he publicly refuses to even hint at such a desire – would have been damaged had he not won both games but he will delighted, and a touch relieved, to have escaped any traps.
It is tough to make any defining judgement based on these two victories but Carsley has increased the sense that the England job is his to lose. He could not have done any more.
Carsley has graduated via England’s Under-21s, as did Southgate, winning the European Championship in 2023 while offering a guiding hand to so many of the youngsters he brought into his first squad.
He is part of the so-called “England DNA” coming out of St. George’s Park and the manner in which Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, who inflicted misery on Southgate’s side in the Euro 2024 Final in Berlin, took the same path in his country may also play into the FA’s thinking.
If possession, as the old saying goes, is nine-tenths of the law then Carsley now has it in his gift over coming months to make the FA’s decision for them.
England’s two performances under the 50-year-old have been a mixed bag.
The first half against the Republic was excellent and brought two goals before a stodgy second half. The win against Finland was the reverse, Kane showing his class and a reminder of his enduring importance after his struggle to make any impact at the Euros.
Carsley has put his stamp on England, from the new young faces such as Angel Gomes, who had a fine debut at Wembley, to giving Trent Alexander-Arnold the backing and the platform to finally deliver for his country what he regularly produces for Liverpool.
Alexander-Arnold did not appear to have Southgate’s full trust, especially in the defensive aspect of the game, while the “experiment” of using him in midfield in Germany in the summer was ill-thought-out and doomed to failure.
Carsley has talked up what Alexander-Arnold can do rather than what he cannot and has been rewarded in both games, starting with an outstanding pass that showed remarkable vision to Declan Rice‘s first goal in Dublin.
He helped to set up Kane’s first goal against Finland with another piece of intelligence, creating the most chances for England on the night with five. It is the third time he has created five or more chances for his country since 2019, with no other player doing so on more than one occasion in that time.
Carsley was full of praise, saying: “You have seen Trent’s array of passing, an ability to control a game. It’s not a surprise as we have seen him do it for Liverpool.”
As with England, greater tests will lie ahead for Alexander-Arnold, especially defensively but Carsley’s words will be music to the ears of the 25-year-old, who has sometimes looked a little unloved on international duty.
The big bonus for Carsley is that his selection decisions have also enabled him to highlight the scale of options open to him, with Newcastle United/’s Anthony Gordon showing the pace and creation to add to options on the left flank while Jack Grealish has made his impact in the number 10 role.
This had all happened with the hugely-gifted trio Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden out with injury and illness.
England’s interim manager was brutally honest about feeling his way into his new role, saying: “I definitely don’t feel comfortable still.
“I have been out of my comfort zone. It’s been enjoyable but we have had to make sure every single day we are producing high standards. We are fortunate to have got two good results so it is about building on that.”
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “As you can imagine it is a test. Not only for myself, but for the rest of the staff. We have shown to ourselves that we can do it and we can implement what we are trying to do. We can put ideas in place and the players have responded really well to what we have asked.”
The straight bat was still being pushed firmly forward at Wembley when he was asked whether this meant he was saying he wanted the job: “I will definitely not be saying that. I am totally relaxed about the situation. I have got to do a good job.”
Carsley’s next assignment is at home to Greece at Wembley in October followed by a trip to Helsinki to face Finland – two more wins and his bandwagon might just start to gather unstoppable momentum.
