Lee Carsley has been praised for the England team he selected to play the Republic of Ireland and the tactical tweaks he made in the 2-0 win.
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England beat Republic of Ireland 2-0Carsley praised for team selectionInterim boss lauded for tactical tweaksWHAT HAPPENED?
Following England's Nations League win over Ireland on Saturday, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright praised interim boss Carsley for selecting left winger Anthony Gordon and encouraging the Newcastle United man to run in behind the defence – something he believes the Three Lions have been lacking.
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He said on ITV Sport: “Very, very impressive from England. I thought Ireland would have be a lot tighter to them. But saying that, they have been passing into areas. Passing it with pace and passing it through the lines. You saw with the first goal, it was a brilliant run from Anthony Gordon. Even with Harry Kane in the middle. You are seeing somebody who is willing to run in behind, which is something we haven’t had in a while. Then you flood the box, good effort from Harry Kane, but then Declan Rice, who has been making that late break into the box all day, making those late runs, has come in again. It’s the run from Gordon. The fact that Trent Alexander-Arnold has got so much time on the ball (to play a ball over the top). I think Gordon should score this (one-v-one). He did a great interview (before the game) about what he wanted to do and those chances he has to take. In the end, they got the ball back in and then bam, Declan scores a fantastic goal.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
After Gareth Southgate's England tenure – which brought the Three Lions the closest to winning a major trophy since their 1966 World Cup triumph – expectations are high for caretaker boss Carsley to hit the ground running with this talented group of players. If he does well, he could be given the job on a permanent basis.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?
Carsley's England side continue their Nations League campaign on Tuesday against Finland, before taking on Greece and the Finns again on October 10 and 13 respectively in the same competition.
