England boss Lee Carsley could axe three players when the Three Lions take on Finland in the Nations League on Tuesday evening. Carsley is preparing for his first home match as England’s interim manager after guiding his team to a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
England controlled proceedings at the Aviva Stadium as Declan Rice and Jack Grealish netted for the visitors.
And the result means the 1966 World Cup champions are level with Greece on three points after the opening round of matches.
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Carsley is looking to freshen his side up for the visit of Finland, with Manchester City duo John Stones and Rico Lewis in contention to come into the back line. Those changes could see Harry Maguire and Levi Colwill dropping to the bench.
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher could be recalled in midfield in the place of Manchester United teenager Kobbie Mainoo.
And Carsley addressed his squad in a press conference ahead of the showdown as he alluded to the gametime players have been given by their clubs this season.
“Going back to the squad selection, which changed a lot based on the amount of minutes that the players were playing, some were coming in and some were coming out, then they would play at the weekend so it put them in a stronger position,” explained the 50-year-old.
“We have to be realistic that the players that didn’t have a lot of time off in the summer [at Euro 2024] came back having maybe not played as many minutes to expect them just to go into, especially, a game in Dublin at the tempo that we thought it would be and the physicality.
“I didn’t want to put them in a position where if they didn’t do well, you could almost see what they didn’t do well. It just gave us a chance to do a bit more work with them during the week.
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And he added: “There are maybe four or five that needed that extra work and that extra day’s training, which will hopefully help them. We'll make two or three changes, freshen things up a little bit. What I've noticed with this group is how motivated they are to do well.”
England’s clash with Finland will take place at Wembley, with the game scheduled to get underway at 7.45pm.
England (possible): Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Konsa, Lewis; Rice, Gallagher; Grealish, Saka, Gordon, Kane.
