It was mission accomplished for Lee Carsley as he left the England dugout on Sunday. His short tenure as England boss has laid the foundations for Thomas Tuchel to come in and work his magic, with eyes now set on 2026 World Cup qualification.

In these two games last week it could not have gone much more smoothly for Carsely, kicking things off with a 3-0 win against Greece. This was revenge for their defeat when the teams played each other earlier in the year, with Curtis Jones grabbing a goal on his debut to mark the occasion.

Then on Sunday England welcomed the Republic of Ireland, which was a stalemate in the first half but after about 50 minutes Liam Scales was sent off for a foul on Jude Bellingham in the box, which gave Harry Kane the chance to score England’s opening from the spot.

He converted successfully before Anthony Gordon then volleyed home, and Conor Gallagher added another to make it 3-0.

Later on in the second half, super substitutes Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis each scored to give England a comfortable 5-0 win. Job done for Carsely and a great starting point for Tuchel. Carsley will now return to his role as England Under-21 coach, with a record of five wins from six games as head coach, and with Tuchel able to take control of a team back in the top tier of the Nations League.

“It’s a job that deserves an elite coach with a track record of winning and Thomas has got that,” Carsley said after the 5-0 win. “The bonus would be we’ve increased the pool of players. The next squad will be a real challenge to pick, I’m sure. Exciting times ahead.”

It’s the start of a new chapter for England and it could be an exciting one for England fans with a great pool of players and one of the most decorated managers they have had in years.