Temporary head coach Lee Carsley has signed off in style as England capitalised on Liam Scales’ sending off in a 5-0 thrashing of the Republic of Ireland that sealed promotion back to the Nations League top tier.
The 17th and final fixture of a year that saw the national team reach another European Championship final marked the end of the Under-21s coach’s six-game stint as Gareth Southgate’s stand-in.
Thomas Tuchel begins his quest to win the 2026 World Cup in the new year and takes over on the back of Nations League elevation after Carsley oversaw a comfortable win against the country he represented as a player.
Carsley said: “I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch, be attacking. I see them day in, day out on the training ground and now people have seen it.
“It’s given the staff and myself the confidence we can do the job. You always doubt yourself, whether you could do it or not.
“There’s a lot of England managers sat in the house picking the team and to have the responsibility to do that and the trust from my bosses has been a massive boost of confidence.”
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s Ireland had started well and frustrated England in the first half, only to spiral after Scales received his second yellow card for bringing down Jude Bellingham in the penalty area shortly after half-time.
Captain Harry Kane, back in the starting line-up, struck home the resulting penalty, with Anthony Gordon then lashing in and Conor Gallagher scoring from close range just as Group B2 rivals Greece took the lead in Finland.
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Substitute Jarrod Bowen netted with his first touch and fellow introduction Taylor Harwood-Bellis completed a dream debut by heading in to wrap up a win that saw Carsley’s men top the pool.
Greece, who went on to beat Finland 2-0, finished level on 15 points but England’s 3-0 win in Athens on Thursday meant they boasted a superior head-to-head record.
Kane, who described Carsley as “top drawer”, said: “Two tough games, we got the job done away in Greece and we had to finish it here today. It was a tough first half and we came out in the second half with a lot more energy and finished it off.”
Erling Haaland leads the Nations League scoring charts after hitting a hat trick in Norway’s 5-0 win against Kazakhastan.
The Manchester City striker took his total to seven goals and is two clear of Viktor Gyokeres, Cristiano Ronaldo and Benjamin Sesko, who are all tied on five.
Norway were promoted to the top tier, ahead of second-place Austria, who drew 1-1 with Slovenia.
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