Gary Lineker makes feelings clear on Lee Carsley after England suffer awful defeat to Greece
Gary Lineker has defended Lee Carsley after England lost 2-1 to Greece in Thursday night's Nations League clash
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Gary Lineker has defended Lee Carsley after England lost 2-1 to Greece in Thursday night's Nations League clash.
The Three Lions had gone into the game widely expected to blow their opponents away, especially after starting A-listers such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer.
But England were poor as Greece secured all three points following a brace from Benfica star Vangelis Pavlidis.
Carsley has come in for criticism in the time since. The 50-year-old is in charge on an interim basis and could yet be given the keys to Wembley permanently.
Gary Lineker has defended Lee Carsley after England lost 2-1 to Greece in Thursday night's Nations League clash
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But Lineker has now defended the former Everton midfielder while speaking on the Rest is Football podcast.
“If he was in the role permanently, you would go ‘Well, that’s alright’. Because, let’s be realistic, it’s a friendly, it’s a glorified friendly, it’s not a World Cup qualifier," he said.
“I actually admire him to have the balls, the cojones, to actually try something like that when you are trying to get the job.
"That was brave and bold and I admire that.
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"I’d sooner see that than see us sitting deep like we did in the summer against teams of equal, actually not as good as Greece probably, some of them, and just sitting there and trying to get a counter-attack."
England fans may not agree, however.
While Gareth Southgate was accused of being too pragmatic, the Three Lions did normally get the job done against teams lower than them in the FIFA world rankings.
Carsley isn't the only name in the frame to take over as England boss as the FA hunt a permanent replacement for Southgate.
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They remain big admirers of Eddie Howe, even though he's committed to Newcastle for the time being.
And Pep Guardiola, while a long shot, is also being tracked amid uncertainty over his long-term future at Manchester City.
Meanwhile, Carsley opened up after the game and admitted he was disappointed by England's failure to win.
He also urged fans that they can't expect 'too much' despite the huge amount of talent they have at their disposal.
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Gary Lineker has praised Lee Carsley for being bold in England's Nations League defeat to Greece
PA"We were second best for a lot of tonight, it is disappointing," he told ITV.
"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.
Gary Lineker believes it would be wrong to read too much into England's Nations League defeat to Greece
PA"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."