Lee Carsley drops huge hint on England future after win over Finland

Lee Carsley appears to have dropped a major hint as to whether he wants to manage England permanently after a 3-1 win over Finland on Sunday.

Carsley suffered a first defeat in his role as interim on Thursday when England were beaten 2-1 Greece at Wembley for the first time ever.

England, playing without a recognised striker, struggled to create and were easily breached in defence.

But the Three Lions bounced back in Helsinki, with Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice all on the scoresheet.

After the Greece loss, Carsley mentioned about going back to coaching the Under 21 side in a press conference.

Reports then emerged claiming that the former Everton midfielder does not want to succeed Gareth Southgate permanently.

He was then asked about those reports in a post-match interview with ITV and again stressed that he was brought in for six games - four of which have now been completed.

But Carsley suggested he does not want to be England boss full-time as he said the job "deserves a world class coach who has won trophies" and he is "still on the path to doing that".

• Bouncing back from defeat
• Trent Alexander-Arnold's performance
• His future with the England job

Lee Carsley reacts to England's victory away in Finland 🇫🇮🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿#ITVFootball | @gabrielclarke05 🎤 pic.twitter.com/CQY7OrRIoC

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 13, 2024

Speaking to Gabriel Clarke, Carsley explained: "I’ve not thought that much about it, I keep saying the same thing. It’s a privileged position I’m in, I’m really enjoying it.

“I’m totally in the middle, my bosses have made it clear what they need from me. This job deserves a world class coach who’s won trophies, and I’m still learning.”

It was claimed that Carsley has left members of the England set-up "convinced" that he does not want the job and they will therefore have to look externally.

Graham Potter, Eddie Howe and Thomas Tuchel appear to be the frontrunners.

Next up for England is a trip to play Greece in Athens on 14 November, followed by a final group game with Republic of Ireland at Wembley three days later.