FANS called for Lee Carsley to stay on as England boss and joked whether Thomas Tuchel’s contract can be ripped up.
Carsley, 50, stepped in as interim Three Lions manager after Gareth Southgate resigned following the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
The Under-21s gaffer took on the temporary promotion for the six Nations League matches – tasked with securing promotion back to the top division.
And despite a blip in losing at home to Greece, he has secured five wins out of six to ensure it was mission accomplished.
Carsley is expected to return to U21s duty now that his stint is done, with Tuchel signing an 18-month, £7.5million contract to take over in January.
But after smashing Ireland 5-0 to confirm England’s promotion and sign off in style, plenty of supporters want more Carsley-ball in 2025 – rather than see Tuchel’s football.
And the emphatic victory at Wembley, off the back of a 3-0 win in Greece on Thursday, came despite nine players withdrawing from the squad.
But that allowed FOUR stars to score their first senior England goals – Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
One fan quipped: “Too late to cancel Tuchel’s contract?”
Another said: “Not seen England play like this for a long time. An exciting watch. Knows the players very well and very likeable. Gave the armchair football managers what they wanted. Then picked the players to do the job. The FA have made a mistake in not promoting Lee Carsley.”
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A third added: “Lee Carsley era of England will always be in my heart. I’ve never seen our national team play better football. Balance and structure is ideal. Brave on the ball, beautiful combinations, beautiful goals. He deserved the job full time.”
A fourth typed: “Well done Lee Carsley. Chucked in the deep end but 5 wins, plenty of goals, lots of good football and several debuts/fringe players given minutes, he left a mark and can be proud of his tenure.”
And a final user commented: “It feels like something is really building under Lee Carsley. It’s almost a shame he has to make way for Tuchel.”
Carsley is set to return to his role as Under-21s boss when Tuchel comes in.
But reflecting on his tenure and bowing out with the five-star performance, a beaming Carsley said: “It was a great evening for a lot of players and the main thing was getting promotion.
“It was a good performance with real intent. I believed we would score goals.
“I enjoyed watching the lads, to play with the aggression they played with.
“I suppose relief [is the overriding emotion]. I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch, be attacking.
Forgotten England stars could benefit from Tuchel appointment
WITH Thomas Tuchel announced as the next England manager, a few forgotten stars might be hopeful of a return to the international set up.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager usually uses a 3-4-3 formation.
That could provide an opening for Mason Mount, who’s not been involved in the England set-up since the World Cup in 2022.
The now Manchester United star enjoyed his most successful spell under Tuchel while the pair were at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel could also offer lifelines to other previously capped players such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Eric Dier.
RLC has excelled since his move to AC Milan and with England struggling to find a partner for Rice, he could be the surprise answer.
Meanwhile, Dier played for Tuchel at Bayern Munich as part of a back-three last season.
The defender did enough to convince the club to make his loan move permanent after he had fallen out of favour at Tottenham.
Click here to see the full England XI who could play under Tuchel.
“I see them on the training ground and now people have seen it.
“I can only do what I was in control of. I don’t think it’s a gamble with these players, they’re excellent players and their mentality stands out. Any challenge put in front of them, they want to overcome.
“The U21 players have got a history of winning and expect to win when they turn up for England.”
Asked on one day returning to manage the England senior team again, he added: “This has given the staff and myself the confidence that we can do the job.
“You always doubt yourself.
“We often say there’s a lot of England managers in their house picking the team.
“It’s been a massive boost of confidence.”
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