His strategies were unclear, and his comments afterwards were just as puzzling.
The pressure of being England’s soccer coach might be weighing on Lee Carsley after a night when his performance during the game and his media responses left many confused.
Carsley is serving as the interim coach after Gareth Southgate left following England’s loss to Spain in the European Championship final in July. He started off well with two 2-0 victories over Ireland and Finland in the Nations League last month.
Now, doubts are rising about Carsley’s ability to lead after he chose an exciting but untested lineup against Greece, which included no striker and several attacking midfielders. This decision led to a 2-1 loss in a messy and often chaotic game at Wembley Stadium.
“I never at any point thought I’d got it cracked,” Carsley said after the game about his criticized tactics, which were debated after the match rather than before. “It was a case of, let’s try something different.”
His later remarks about whether he wanted the job permanently added to the confusion, especially since the English Football Association is looking for Southgate’s replacement.
Carsley, who previously managed England’s under-21 team, was seen as a strong candidate to take over full-time after his earlier successes.
“I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of (people saying), ‘the job is mine’ and ‘it’s mine to lose’ and all the rest of it,” said Carsley, who has been informed he will also coach during the Nations League games in November.
“My remit has been clear from the start. I’m doing three camps. There’s three games left, and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the under-21s.”
