Lee Carsley has warned that England could look ‘clunky’ and ‘unorganised’ as he vows to get creative to start the defence of their Under-21 European Championships title.
England won this competition for the first time in 39 years back in 2023 but there are only two players from that squad here in Slovakia – Charlie Cresswell and Harvey Elliott – attempting to go back-to-back.
Summer moves for Liam Delap, who has joined Chelsea, and Jobe Bellingham, who signed for Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, have left holes in Carsley’s squad, but not holes he is worried about filling.
‘It’s a case of being able to adapt,’ he said. ‘I expect at times against a really strong Czech team that it may look a little bit unorganised, it may look a little bit clunky.
‘I’ve made that known to the players as well that they shouldn’t expect too much too soon. I think the longer we can stay in the tournament, the more these players can play together.’
Lee Carsley has some big decisions to make as he prepares to get creative with his line-up
Carsley is without Liam Delap (left) and Jobe Bellingham (right) from his 23-man squad
Against Greece while in charge of the seniors Carsley put out a starting XI without a recognised striker and it was a formula that also worked for him in 2023 when England won this tournament.
While Thomas Tuchel has seen his own recent experimentations with the first team backfire, Carsley is expected to lean towards a 4-2-2-2 system with two No 10s drifting inside, while captain James McAtee plays alongside a runner up top.
Harvey Elliott, Ethan Nwaneri, Jonathan Rowe and Omari Hutchinson are all options as a false nine having played there at previous points in their careers and that level of flexibility appeals to, rather than worries, Carsley.
‘The main thing is that I adapt and put the tactics around the players’ attributes, not how I see it, but what they can do and what they’re good at,’ he added.
‘It’s a challenge because we were talking about it on the car on the way here. We’ve got a lot of really good players.
‘If you could choose 16 starters, that would be a lot easier! We’ve already spoken to the players about it and going from past experience, I’m not sure anyone, if we were to get to the final, would play 690 minutes.
A rotation of No 10s and false 9s is now likely, featuring Harvey Elliott (left) and James McAtee
‘That’s why picking the squad is so important, that you get the balance right, and you’ve got the players that are capable of playing, recovering and being able to go again.’
England start their defence against the Czech Republic and Carsley underlined that while this a development tournament for many, the Young Lions must feel the pressure to win it again.
‘We’ve not come to Slovakia for potentially three weeks for a break,’ he said.
‘I want the players to be in a position where England have qualified for a major tournament, we’re expected to win and why not? Why can’t we? Why shouldn’t we? Why shouldn’t we prepare to win? And that’s what we’re trying to do.’
