LEE CARSLEY has admitted that England only worked on his striker-less system for 20 minutes in training.
The Three Lions caretaker boss spoke after his side’s dismal 2-1 Nations League defeat to Greece at Wembley.
The visitors were the better side for much of what was an emotional night, following the shocking death of George Baldock.
Vangelis Pavlidis gave Greece a deserved lead on 49 minutes, after his side had been denied by a sensational Levi Colwill goal-line clearance in the first half.
Jude Bellingham levelled for England on 87 minutes, only for Pavlidis to net a winner in stoppage time.
Carsley, 50, was without injured captain Harry Kane for the match.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
In Kane’s absence, he opted against starting Ollie Watkins or Dominic Solanke up front, instead selecting no recognised No9.
Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka, Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer all started in the striker-less XI – but Carsley’s risky line-up never really gelled.
Carsley eventually ditched the system, bringing Watkins on for Gordon on the hour mark.
He then threw on Solanke for Foden with 72 minutes on the clock.
Most read in Football
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
Speaking to ITV reporter Gabriel Clarke after the match, Carsley admitted: “I think we were probably second best for a lot of tonight. It’s disappointing.
“I just spoke about there, we’re going to get setbacks – it’s important now that we respond well against Finland.”
Asked about the system, Carsley said: “We tried something different. We tried to overload the midfield and play a little bit differently.
“It’s something that we tried for 20 minutes yesterday. It’s something we experimented with, it was disappointing that it didn’t come off.
“But I think it was unrealistic to expect too much and it’s a case of trying again.”
On his side’s poor defending, he added: “I think with the quality that we’ve got… you look at all the goals tonight, they’ve come from mistakes, which is disappointing.
“Even at 1-1, we were quite fortunate at that point.”
‘WE TRIED SOMETHING’
Quizzed if he will persevere with the system, Carsley said: “I think it’s definitely an option. When you’ve got someone of Harry Kane’s quality it rules that out because of the amount of goals that he gets for us and how important he is for the team.
“But we tried something tonight and in the future we’ve got to have that courage and that ability to try things.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“This is a period where it’s so important that we gain promotion from this league, but we tried something different.”
The Three Lions will look to bounce back on Sunday as they face Finland in Helsinki – with Kane’s fitness remaining up in the air.
England player ratings vs Greece
By Tom Barclay
LEE CARSLEY’S tactical experiment of playing no strikers backfired as Vangelis Pavlidis’ double secured an emotional shock win for Greece at Wembley.
Interim England boss Carsley played all three of our nation’s gifted No10s – Phil Foden, Jue Bellingham and Cole Palmer – in varying positions.
But it did not work and the Greeks took a deserved lead thanks to Pavlidis’ belting second-half finish.
The visitors then held up a shirt in celebration bearing the name Baldock – in reference to their team-mate George Baldock, whose passing at the age of just 31 on Wednesday rocked the world of football.
Bellingham looked to have ensured the points were shared with a thunderous strike with three minutes to go.
But there was still time for Pavlidis to expose some woeful defending deep into injury time by firing past Jordan Pickford.
Here are SunSport’s player ratings from a dire night for England under the arch.
Jordan Pickford: 4
Wandered into no-man’s-land territory outside his box early on and lost the ball, allowing Greek skipper Tasos Baksetas a free shot at goal – only to be saved by Levi Colwill’s last-gasp clearance. Did not instil confidence, despite his experience.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 6
Some tasty passes – they are his speciality, after all – but not great at the back. He, John Stones and Cole Palmer were weak in their attempt to close down Vangelis Pavlidis before the Benfica man smashed home the opener.
John Stones: 5
Made captain for what was his 82nd cap, surpassing Rio Ferdinand’s haul. But it was a shaky display from his defence and Stones should have done better to stop Pavlidis.
Levi Colwill: 7
Greece would have been ahead far sooner were it not for Colwill’s athletic hack away to deny Bakasetas. Replays showed it would have crossed the line had the Chelsea man been a split second later with his incredible intervention.
Rico Lewis: 6
Tried to bomb up the left flank where he could but, just like Kieran Trippier at the Euros, was hamstrung by constantly having to cut back onto his favoured right foot.
Declan Rice: 6
Played as England’s only holding midfielder, as fans had been imploring Gareth Southgate to use him for years. It was not like he was overrun but his side did look vulnerable on the counter.
Phil Foden: 4
Spent most of the game pressing the Greek backline as a false nine without really getting on the ball and causing any damage. Ineffective.
Cole Palmer: 6
Deployed in a deeper, central-midfield role which at least meant he saw plenty of the ball, though he blazed England’s best chance of the first half over the bar. Remarkably, his first competitive England start, despite being named on Tuesday as Three Lions player of the 2023-24 season.
Bukayo Saka: 5
Struggled to get into the game and then was forced out of it, worryingly limping off early in the second half. The last thing Arsenal fans wanted to see.
Jude Bellingham: 7 STAR MAN
Played in a false nine position and had a belting early shot well saved. The system did not work but Bellingham still so nearly emerged as the saviour by banging in his first goal of the season for club and country.
Anthony Gordon: 5
Caused Greece few problems and his touch looked off it. Had a decent chance from Alexander-Arnold’s peach of a delivery but headed over.
SUBS:
Noni Madueke (for Saka 52): Played out on the left, rather than his natural right, when coming on. Went down in the box deep into injury time but no penalty was given. 6
Ollie Watkins (for Gordon 60): Almost scored with his first touch when played through by Palmer, but smashed just over. 7
Dominic Solanke (for Foden 72): Grabbed an assist when laying the ball back to Bellingham who thumped in the leveller. 7
Manager Lee Carsley: 4
Seemed to gamble unnecessarily with this experimental system instead of playing it safe to add another win to boost his case to earn the job full-time. Carsley played without a natural centre-forward when winning the Under-21 Euros because he had to after Flo Balogun switched the USA and Rhian Brewster got injured, but here he did it by choice and it did not work. Bellingham looked to have saved his bacon – but then Pavlidis struck again.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
