Less than 3 months after the EURO 2024 final, England suffered a big shock defeat when they lost to Greece at home. After the defeat to Ireland under interim coach Lee Carsley, it was thought that the "Three Lions" would have a steady progress. However, once again this team fell into a spiral of instability.
The English Football Association (FA) has assigned Lee Carsley a very clear task, which is to complete the Nations League group stage with a good result. The away win over Ireland was the perfect warm-up but everything turned 180 degrees at Wembley. Immediately after the defeat, questions about Carsley's future, even as a caretaker, were raised among FA managers.
The approach to the match was not like the style of the home team at the top, which made England regretful. However, Lee Carsley's attitude in the press conference room after the match is what is of interest. When asked whether he wanted to stay with England long-term, Carsley was hesitant. He seems to want to return to the England U21 team after 6 Nations League matches. This is very dangerous for the "Three Lions" because if their coaches think like that, the next 5 matches in the Nations League will have a very bad attitude for this team.
Some say that Carsley was modest when speaking unclearly about his future in the England team. On the contrary, there are also many opinions that Carsley's words are not serious about the work assigned at this time. Previously, Gareth Southgate may have disappointed a large part of England fans. However, he has never lost at Wembley in such a way.
Against weak opponent Greece, Lee Carsley's England played like a "wild and amateur" team, without lines, without playing style, without anything. There was a feeling that Greece put terrible pressure on the home team's penalty area every time they attacked. It made England fans feel like their team was playing against top teams like Spain or France, not Greece.
Lee Carsley seemed confused to the end when he used 3 substitutions but the game situation did not change. Before that, the former international also made 3 changes to the squad compared to the match against Ireland.
"They played very well, it's just that tonight, we were the worse team. With the number of players we have, sometimes we have to be brave to make changes and be creative. It would be easy to use a good, proven squad. However, making changes is also the right thing to do, right?
Of course, I'm responsible for this bad result, it shouldn't have happened tonight. In the coming times, we will try to improve more" - Carsley shared after the match.
After losing to Greece, England will have another match at FIFA Days in October in the UEFA Nations League with a visit to Finland on October 13.
