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Lee Carsley speaks to ITV
It’s fair to say we fell below the levels that we expect. We can use it as a real positive now with a good response tonight.
[On Dean Henderson’s selection] It was always the case we we were gonna look at Dean in one of the games.
[On Trent Alexander-Arnold at left-back] His role will be a bit different to a conventional left-back. He’s very versatile and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.
[On the reaction to Thursday’s defeat] I’m absolutely fine. It was something I was expecting – I wanted to try something different and I take full responsibility. If I had my time again I’d do exactly the same.
Jonathan Liew on England
For years the focus of England’s cultural development has been on how we can keep these guys happy, in an era where the rewards and prestige are ever more severely weighted towards club football. This was one of Gareth Southgate’s great achievements, and by the end even he seemed a little lost in the cosmos, desperately trying to keep the circus on the road, a cast of stars all convinced they were possessed of some unique main-character energy.
When it works, your stars step up at crucial moments to drag you to a major final you had no business being in. But the problem with this model is that effort becomes contingent on circumstances. Euro semi-final: fine. Uefa Nations League group B2 in October: good luck with that. Which is why a certain arrogance, a certain caprice, seems to have crept into the setup.
Poor bloke probably can’t wait to get back to the under-21s.
Team news: Carsley makes six changesAll change in the England team, with Lee Carsley reverting to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 formation. Harry Kane, Marc Guehi, Kyle Walker, Angel Gomes, Jack Grealish and Dean Henderson replace Phil Foden, Levi Colwill, Rico Lewis, Jordan Pickford, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka.
That means either Walker or, more likely, Trent Alexander-Arnold will start at left-back.
Finland have made five changes to the side that lost at home to Ireland on Thursday.
Finland (possible 4-3-3) Hradecky; Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Kamara, Schuller, Peltola; F Jensen, Kallman, Keskinen.
Substitutes: Joronen, Sinisalo, Galvez, Antman, Lod, Pukki, Stahl, Pikkarainen, Tenho, Nissila, Pohjanpalo, Walta.
England (possible 4-2-3-1) Henderson; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Alexander-Arnold; Gomes, Rice; Palmer, Bellingham, Grealish; Kane.
Substitutes: Pickford, Pope, Lewis, Foden, Gordon, Gallagher, Colwill, Livramento, Watkins, Solanke, Madueke.
Referee Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia).
PreambleThe difference a game makes. There was plenty of goodwill towards Lee Carsley after his first window as England’s interim manager, with the BBC among those surmising that the job was his to lose. All that goodwill evaporated on Thursday night, when England were beaten by Greece after Carsley picked an, a-hem, experimental XI that inccluded five forwards and no striker.
Carsley was praised by many before the game for letting England’s hair down, then ridiculed after it for being a bald fraud. And while it’s almost entirely unfair, Carsley’s distinguished England coaching career will probably now be remembered for the night he gambled on a 4-1-5-0 formation.
“You want the public to trust and love the team,” said Carsley, “because the impact the national team has on the public is very inspiring. We know we can do a lot better. You have to respect people’s opinions and we didn’t perform as well as we can and I would expect a reaction against Finland.”
England will pick a more conventional team in Finland, with Harry Kane likely to return up front, and they yet could end the day on top of Group B2. That would require the Republic of Ireland to win in Greece but, as England know all too well, stranger things have happened.
Kick off 5pm.