A Euro 2024 hangover was avoided by the beaten finalists as they ripped off a run of five wins from six games to restore their feel-good factor
The die-hard fans of the England men's national team, with their brass band and Wembley paper aeroplanes, will hardly be telling their grandkids about the great UEFA Nations League B Group 2 promotion of 2024, but this was an important period in the Three Lions' history nonetheless.
The immediate post-Gareth Southgate era could have quite easily turned sour. In the absence of the man who united the nation and revolutionised the national-team setup, there was a world where England simply unravelled at the seams and failed to kick on as so many had hoped.
Yet Lee Carsley managed to steady the ship, despite the odd rocking of the boat and persistent questions over the existential point of his interim spell. Taking 15 points from a possible 18 to top the group ahead of Greece, Finland and Ireland was the minimum requirement, and he cleared the bar of expectation with relative ease.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from England's autumn…
Getty Images SportWINNER: Lee Carsley
It was rather telling how quickly England's players – both the established stars and those of the future – moved to thank Carsley and his staff for their contributions during the closing months of 2024. In fact, some even alluded to the interim boss raising spirits around St George's Park after the turbulent ending to Southgate's tenure.
Jude Bellingham wrote on Instagram, "Huge thanks to Lee and his staff for their work in these last few camps. Got my smile back in an England shirt, very grateful!" Meanwhile, Jack Grealish similarly said, "What a guy & manager! Absolute legend and thank you for bringing back the enjoyment in England shirt."
The public demanded England played with more freedom and expression, that the Three Lions be freed from the shackles of football conservatism and unleashed as an attacking force upon international football. Some of Carsley's methods were flawed – notably his gung-ho selection in October's 2-1 defeat at home to Greece – but for the most part he satisfied the demands of supporters.
The FA have been keen to promote a coaching pathway in a bid to replicate the success of Southgate, and Carsley has proven across three months and six matches that he should be a bona fide candidate for the permanent job in future. If Tuchel's reign amounts to nothing or even crashes and burns, Carsley will be the first person turned to.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Lee Carsley
But it is for those reasons that Carsley is also the victim of this whole saga. If the FA were not planning on bringing in a permanent boss until January and he was always going to get these three camps in charge, could they have not waited until the end of 2024 to come to a decision? What was the need of rushing an appointment in October if the successful candidate wasn't going to start immediately? Did they fear Manchester United would swoop in to steal their top target even though the Old Trafford hierarchy spurned Tuchel back in the summer?
Unless England go all the way at the 2026 World Cup, these are the questions that will hang over the FA and Tuchel's premiership. This decision made what seemed a proactive and savvy move look rather amateurish, the shine coming off a statement signing in the name of diplomacy.
Then there's the continued uncertainty over the FA's paradoxical and conflicting commitment to promoting English coaching. Sure, Carsley has strengthened his credentials for future vacancies, but if the job were still up for grabs, he would have had more time to build a compelling case for the gig. It appears the FA's minds were already made up, however, and their wishy-washy claim of interviewing at least 10 coaches prior to Tuchel signing the contract was widely disputed, bringing a needless scepticism on their business and thinking.
Carsley is the victim of that muddied process, and the FA are fortunate he is a man who has handled himself with integrity throughout his time in the Wembley dugout, who didn't stir the pot any further and towed the party line as they pleaded. Perhaps a more careerist manager would have made other, louder noises from behind the Three Lions podium.
Getty Images SportWINNER: England's next generation
Carsley's lasting impact coming away from the autumn internationals is how wide the England player pool now is and the empowerment young talent should feel about their future chances of featuring for the Three Lions. His experience and winning record as Under-21s boss gave him the credit in the bank needed to get away with some audacious squad selections, with even the most eyebrow-raising picks paying dividends.
From the off, Carsley was determined to showcase the overlooked youth he had nurtured, from Nottingham Forest playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White to out-of-contract Lille midfielder Angel Gomes, from new Liverpool star Curtis Jones to genuine left-back option Lewis Hall. The door has been left ajar for top-flight youngsters to make the jump from the U21s to the senior team.
Southgate came under fire for, rightly or wrongly, sticking to a rigid core and not acting quickly enough to blood emerging players into his setup. Should Tuchel decide a squad shake-up is needed, there is clearly enough quality about the country for him to enact.
Getty Images SportLOSER: Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer & Phil Foden
This is really a story in two parts. There aren't any concerns over Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer's respective performances when donning the white of England, more so how the two can co-exist.
It was a conundrum that had hoped to have been solved during this Nations League campaign. Alas, a mixture of injury and fitness concerns, plus Carsley's aforementioned Greece experiment which saw Palmer play as a deep-lying midfielder for whatever reason, means that this is still an issue on Tuchel's in-tray.
That's a luxury problem to have, but Phil Foden's waning influence for the Three Lions is of real bother. Southgate never seemed to know how to get the best out of him, and nor did Carsley. During his disappointing Euros, Foden was urged by pundits to force his way out of the slump himself, but these struggles have only followed him from international to club level with Manchester City, where he is only continuing to flounder and flop.
Foden's Euros form saw calls for Anthony Gordon to start in his place and bring a runner into a frontline which largely favoured having the ball to feet. The Newcastle winger was one of several new-gen England attackers who excelled under Carsley's tutelage and has credit in the bank moving forward, while Foden is now facing an uphill battle to be a key part of the team's future plans.