skysport.ch
Sky Sport

Watch live sport on

Sky Sport
News Football

England have 'all the tools' to win 2026 World Cup, says departing Carsley

skysports

Lee Carsley believes Thomas Tuchel is taking over an England side with "all of the tools" to win the 2026 World Cup.

media_api_sky_en_6751046673c3d2b3ce07
Only six outfield players played more minutes than Anthony Gordon (280) © Associated Press

Lee Carsley believes Thomas Tuchel is taking over an England side with "all of the tools" to win the 2026 World Cup.

After Gareth Southgate called time on his eight-year reign having reached a second final in three tournaments, the FA chose the ex-Chelsea boss to try to take the last step.

When Tuchel begins his quest for World Cup glory in the new year, he will have been fully debriefed by outgoing interim boss Carsley, who secured Nations League promotion with five wins from his six games.

The temporary appointment returns to his job as England U21 manager confident he has handed over a team with the experience, quality and potential to go all the way in 2026.

  • England winners and losers: Who performed under Lee Carsley?
  • Will incoming England boss Thomas Tuchel build on Lee Carsley's foundations?
  • Harry Kane not viewing World Cup as England swansong after statue revealed

Asked if England can win the World Cup, Carsley said: "I think we are in a good position to do that. I think we have the talent to do it.

"I have been lucky now to be at the last couple of World Cups and the timing of the players being in form, physically and mentally, at the right time, picking the right squad…

"We have got all of the tools. We just need to play them in the [right] order."

Carsley hands over to Tuchel on the back of Thursday's 3-0 win in Greece and Sunday's 5-0 send-off against the Republic of Ireland, matches in which England's autumn debutants increased to eight.

As he prepares to present an in-depth dossier to the new manager, the interim boss said: "Thomas' pool of players has increased so we have left the squad in a fantastic position."

Carsley is still unsure when the pair will meet but says it will be before Tuchel's January 1 start date.

"Definitely I think the sooner, the better," he said. "I think it's important first, though, that we debrief properly rather than being a bit reactive just on results.

"It's the whole experience. We will collate our thoughts along with the rest of the players in terms of handing over something he can read and look through that's valuable, and then we'll step back to support him."

  • Relieved Lee Carsley preparing 'dossier' for Thomas Tuchel takeover
  • Five-star England thrash Republic of Ireland to earn Nations League promotion
  • Stream Sky Sports with NOW

Carsley has not only sought to increase the options available to Tuchel but the attack-minded coach has tried to change England's approach.

It is something the players have enjoyed, with Jude Bellingham thanking him for giving him his "smile back" in an England shirt and Jack Grealish praising him for "bringing back the enjoyment".

"I want to attack," Carsley said. "I think you might have seen me play and I was quite defensive and quite negative. I did not want to coach like that.

"I think we have such attacking talent in this group of players that I felt the best way is to attack, and we have shown that you control games.

"It is fair to say the challenges will be more difficult in the 18 months in terms of if we are going to win the World Cup. We have shown we can do it.

Conor Gallagher celebrates with Marc Guehi and Kyle Walker after scoring England's third goal against Republic of Ireland
Image: Conor Gallagher celebrates with Marc Guehi and Kyle Walker after scoring England's third goal against Republic of Ireland

"I suppose at the start of this, we would say I have just done something that was expected in terms of getting qualified from this group, but we have to take a lot of positives from it.

"We have given the lads a lot of opportunities and the most pleasing is that they have shown everyone what they can do."

'England have to find balance'

Departing England interim head coach Lee Carsley:

"I think there's competition for places. I think the best chance of us winning is, if we can, find a place.

"You saw the Greece game at home [2-1 defeat], I tried that, so it is a challenge, it needs work.

"One thing you don’t get with the international camps is time, so we just have to find that balance."

Asked if such options can be a headache, he continued: "A lot of the international coaches at that UEFA thing I went to, the debrief of the tournaments said that. They said, 'You've got a lot of good players', as if that’s a negative thing.

"If they’re all in form at exactly the same time then it's a challenge, but players do come in and out of form, and it's putting them in the team when they're flying and resting them when they're not."

Pickford backs Tuchel to take England 'one step further' in World Cup quest

Thomas Tuchel begins his reign at England on January 1
Image: Thomas Tuchel begins his reign with England on January 1

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford believes incoming boss Tuchel could be the man to help the country go "one step further" and win the World Cup.

Pickford was part of the England team which lost the last two European Championship finals and reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the World Cup.

The Everton goalkeeper believes Tuchel coming in with a short-term goal could help.

"Yeah, you've got one goal and one opportunity," he said. "We've been so close, we want to go that one step further.

"There's definitely new energy and there's going to be a lot of competition for places. But that's what it's about. You want the best players for England at the right moment and hopefully going forward next year we've got that squad ready to win."

'There's new energy in England squad'

Interim boss Carsley, who oversaw the Nations League campaign, handed debuts to eight new players across the six games he was in charge of.

Pickford hopes that the refreshing of the squad will put England in a great position in 18 months' time.

"I hope so. You've seen a lot of debuts over the last three camps," he said.

"There's definitely new energy and there's going to be a lot of competition for places.

"But that's what it’s about. You want the best players for England at the right moment and hopefully going forward next year we've got that squad ready to win.

"For me, I always say you've got to be on form for your club to get picked for your country. I've always looked at it that way. That's what I do. I'll go back to Everton now. I'll work hard on the training pitch, I'll get myself prepared right for a Saturday and in the game I'll give it my best shot every time I put my shirt on for the club."

What NL results mean for England, Scotland ahead of World Cup Qualifying

FILE - The original FIFA World Cup trophy is displayed during the 2018 soccer World Cup draw in the Kremlin in Moscow, Dec. 1, 2017. FIFA says it will consider changes to its policy that blocks league matches from being played in other countries as part of an agreement with a soccer promoter to dismiss the world governing body from a lawsuit challenging that policy. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Image: The 2026 World Cup will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico

Attention will soon be turning to the World Cup Qualifiers, starting next March.

Following England's 5-0 win over Republic of Ireland, new Three Lions manager Tuchel has avoided a Nations League promotion play-off as his first assignment, meaning he will embark on a fresh Qualifying campaign for the World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States in 2026.

Here's all you need to know about World Cup Qualifying!

Rate the article
0 Ratings
Your vote is counted.

Newsfeed

Read also

View More

Watch live sport on

Sky Sport
Copyright Sky Switzerland SA © 2001-2024. Created by EWM.swiss