Lee Carsley, in his second game in charge of England’s national team, is set to make radical changes to his starting line-up for their Nations League clash against Finland, per MailOnline, with Rico Lewis and Angel Gomes both expected to start.
The 50-year-old boss, who became the Three Lions’ caretaker manager in the wake of Gareth Southgate’s departure, enjoyed a fruitful first game at the helm, defeating Ireland 2–0 thanks to goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish.
But, despite cruising to a routine win in Dublin, Birmingham-born Carsley has acknowledged that managing players’ fitness levels, by way of making wholesale changes to the starting line-up, is to be expected going forward.
Carsley Set to Make Wholesale Changes to England Line Up
Angel Gomes set for first England start
Thanks to Carsley’s flexibility, the team that is expected to face Finland is vastly different, apart from an attacking standpoint, to the one that oversaw a comfortable win over Heimer Hallgrimsson’s Ireland.
Jordan Pickford, understandably, keeps his spot in goal after keeping a clean sheet last time out; though what is in front of the Everton shot stopper may come as a surprise.
Manchester City’s Lewis, as alluded to, is set to make his second appearance for the senior England team, replacing Levi Colwill in the process, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to be stationed in the right-back berth.
The central defensive partnership of Ezri Konsa and John Stones is set to come in with Harry Maguire and Marc Guehi exiting the starting line-up, while Angel Gomes is set to make his first start in a senior England strip.
Formerly of Manchester United, Gomes – who chose to play for England over Portugal – enjoyed an impressive 13-minute cameo and is set to be trusted with a starting spot against Finland alongside the ever-reliable Rice of Arsenal.
The front four will remain the same, according to reports, with Harry Kane leading the line with Grealish behind and Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon flanking the Bayern Munich talisman.
Carsley Not Afraid To Make Wholesale Changes
‘We have to be realistic’
In the wake of his victory against Ireland, Carsley suggested that he and his entourage need to ‘be realistic’ over managing game time thanks to the congested schedule of their Euro 2024 campaign over the summer just gone, one in which they reached the final of.
He said: “We have to be realistic that the players that didn’t have a lot of time off in the summer, came back having maybe not played as many minutes, to expect them just to go into, especially, a game in Dublin at the tempo that we thought it would be and the physicality.”
“I didn’t want to put them in a position where if they didn’t do well, you could almost see what they didn’t do well. It just gave us a chance to do a bit more work with them during the week and then put them in a position… and there’s maybe four or five that needed that extra work and that extra day’s training which will hopefully help them.”
After their Nations League match-up with Finland, players will return to domestic action with their respective clubs before the second international break of the season, in October, which will see Carsley’s men face Greece at home and Finland away.
|
England – Remaining Nations League Fixtures |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Date |
Time (BST) |
Opponent (H/A) |
|
10/09/24 |
19:45 |
Finland (H) |
|
10/10/24 |
19:45 |
Greece (H) |
|
13/10/24 |
17:00 |
Finland (A) |
|
14/11/24 |
19:45 |
Greece (A) |
|
17/11/24 |
17:00 |
Ireland (H) |
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