England: Carsley ‘experiment’ fails to ‘come off’ after ‘trying it for 20 minutes’ in training

Interim England manager Lee Carsley says he “tried something different” against Greece and is “disappointed it didn’t come off”.

The Three Lions lost 2-1 at Wembley on Thursday night on an emotional evening for the Greek team following the passing of George Baldock, who had 12 senior caps.

Carsley went very bold with his team selection, selecting attacking full-backs in Rico Lewis and Trent Alexander-Arnold, while putting Jude Bellingham in as a false-nine next to Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer.

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It didn’t work with England susceptible on the counter and unable to create many clear-cut chances, and Carsley – who has surely thrown away his chance to get the managerial job full time – has admitted that.

“We were second best for a lot of tonight, it is disappointing,” Carsley said after the Nations League defeat. “You are going to get setbacks and it’s important we respond.

“We tried something different and tried to overload the midfield. We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday, we experimented, and disappointed it didn’t come off.

“It’s unrealistic to expect too much and we will have to try again. All the goals were from mistakes, which is disappointing.

“It is definitely an option going forward. When you have someone of [Harry] Kane’s quality though it rules it out when he is available. But in the future you have to have the courage and ability to try things.

“We tried something different. It doesn’t change anything. My remit is to do the three camps.”

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John Stones captained England for the first time and was “absolutely gutted” not to mark the occasion with a win.

“On a personal note, absolutely gutted,” the Manchester City defender said. “To have a result like that with the armband for the first time.

“We prepared like we normally do and it didn’t come off. From the start they put us right under pressure. They were very compact.

“We know the system as players and when we are out there as players we we have to deliver. The onus is on us to deliver – and we didn’t.

“A difficult night, a lot was riding on it for me personally and we saw it as a great opportunity to top the group. We have to move forward.”