Lee Carsley enjoyed his first game as interim England manager at the weekend with a 2-0 win over Ireland in the Nations League.

Declan Rice and Jack Grealish were the goal scorers for England, two players who had played for Ireland at youth level before switching their allegiance to England. And Carsley received a lot of praise for the resounding win, which he downplayed after the game when asked about ‘Carseball’.

Carsley said. “It’s definitely not my style. It’s the players that are capable of receiving the ball in tight areas and playing through. I’m just lucky I’m coaching them. I don’t see this as my style. They should take all the credit for the way they’ve been.”

One thing England fans will have been happy with was how players were put into their favourite positions on the pitch. Southgate had come under some criticism by fans for fielding players out of position towards the end of his time in charge of England, and Carsely made sure that everyone was playing where they play best. 

One of Southgate’s big achievements was bringing England to two finals, but sadly not winning them. It will be interesting to see if the freedom the players have now will allow them to go all the way in expressing the happiness they have at their clubs for their country as well.

Carsley was praised for some of his selections too, as he had some bold decisions to bring in new players such as Angel Gomes who made his first appearance for England. It was a refreshing approach that will have been welcomed by many England fans. It was often commented that Southgate had his favourites as England manager and would stick to his guns, such as with Kyle Walker who almost always featured under Southgate but missed out to Alecander-Arnold at the weekend.

It was a straightforward win for England against Finland with a Kane double on his 100th cap, too. That made it two wins from two games in the Nations League.

Time will tell how long he will be the main man in the England camp, but it was a great start for Carsely.