England chiefs may be left with egg on their faces if Lee Carsley fails to beat Greece and the Republic of Ireland convincingly to top their Nations League group.
Thomas Tuchel was confirmed as Gareth Southgate's permanent successor last month, just days after their 3-1 win over Finland.
But the former Bayern Munich boss wouldn't be starting immediately with FA chief executive Mark Bullingham revealing Carsley would remain in charge until the end of the year.
He said: "When we first spoke to him [Tuchel], we had our timescale, Thomas had his timescale and it just fitted really well.
Thomas Tuchel won't take charge until January
REUTERS
"What was so impressive was his singular focus on us and the World Cup and that project.
"It made sense for it to start on January 1 and made sense for Lee to finish the campaign in the Nations League.
"So we’re very comfortable where we are and that’s what we’ll be doing."
But England are at serious risk of not completely finishing their campaign in the Nations League.
The 2026 World Cup qualifying groups will be drawn next month with those featuring five teams getting their campaign underway in the March international break.
For the groups of four, they won't start their qualifying groups until September but will likely use March to prepare for the World Cup cycle.
However, England may not be able to turn their focus to the World Cup if they fail to beat Greece this evening.
The Three Lions currently sit second in their group after losing to Greece at Wembley last month and defeat in Athens would see them miss out on top spot.
Thomas Tuchel may still take charge of Nations League matches
REUTERS
That could prove pivotal as only the group winner will seal automatic qualification back to the top tier of the Nations League.
A second or third-placed finish in the group will see England forced to compete in a promotion play-off, which is scheduled to take place in March.
If England finish second, they will face one of the third-placed League A sides.
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Lee Carsley will need to win both games convincingly
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A third-place finish is unlikely unless Ireland overturn a huge goal difference and win both their games with England dropping six points, but that scenario would see the Three Lions scheduled to compete against a side which finished second in a League C group.
That could come as a huge blow to Tuchel and the FA's plans to start from scratch in the New Year.
As it currently stands, England look set to face one of Poland, Hungary, Serbia or Belgium in their promotion play-off.
The play-offs are scheduled to take place on March 20 and 23.
