Lee Carsley sees dismal England experiment fail miserably in Greece shocker - 5 talking points

Jude Bellingham's strike could not salvage England a draw as Greece scored a little winner to deal Lee Carsley's bid to become full-time boss a blow.

It was an uninspiring first half from , where had the better chances. Errors from almost allowed the visitors to open the scoring, with an impressive clearance from Levi Colwill sparing his teammate's blushes after 10 minutes.

There was no striker on the pitch for the Three Lions but no shortage of attacking talent in the side. They proved ineffectual in the opening period however.

Weak defending from a collection of England defenders early in the second half allowed Vangelis Pavlidis to tip-toe through the box to fire past Pickford to hand Greece the lead. The strike allowed the visitors to pay a .

Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke were eventually introduced but Greece continued to look as, or more threatening than their hosts. Ivan Jovanovic's side saw three goals ruled out for offside and were eventually made to pay as Bellingham arrived late to score from the edge of the box.

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Greece still found their way to a famous win as more poor England defending allowed Pavlidis to score his second goal of the night in stoppage time.

No striker experiment

Carsley has been unafraid to make bold decision in his time as England boss, but he definitely raised a few eyebrows when the .

With absent, change was expected. Though, with Dominic Solanke and Ollie Watkins available, playing without a striker was not.

Carsley certainly had attacking ambitions however. Few players in the side could be deemed anything but forward-thinking.

"It has given us a chance to try something and be creative with the way we play," he said ahead of the game. "We talk about how exciting and creative we can be so I'm looking forward to the game.

"We have a lot of flexibility and you may see a lot of changes. Hopefully it will be exciting. I see all the players interchanging, we have some really creative players."

Unfortunately, Wembley saw little of that in the opening half. England showed little forward quality and were often outnumbered in defence.

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It was just shy of the hour mark when Ollie Watkins was introduced in place of Anthony Gordon. Within seconds he found an opportunity and blazed over the bar to hint he perhaps should have started.

Carsley audition continues

Games against have proven important before. There was never likely to be the jubilant scenes of a freekick but regardless of whether he would admit it, for Carsley, .

Ahead of the Nations League clash there was a sense that Carsley could earn the England job, so long as the Three Lions win their group and do not mess up. With Greece top after two games, this was the opportunity for England to set the record straight against a side ranked 44 places below them.

Defeat tells it's own story. The performance did not show anything of more promise.

Carsley is expected to have three matches remaining of his interim spell and a Thursday night has ensured he will need to impress to turn around public opinion

Jordan Pickford's moments of uncertainty

has been a rare England constant over the last six years and even in Lee Carsley's openness to experiment, his place as the Three Lions No.1 has not been doubted. It's a position the stopper has earned.

After 10 minutes however, Carsley was almost left with his head in his hands as Pickford showed cause for uncertainty. Attempting to take the ball out from the back, the goalkeeper lost possession of the ball outside of his area and was only spared his blushes by athletic and acrobatic defending from Levi Colwill, who cleared the ball from the line.

A sigh of relief from the sidelines was met with a rush of blood to the head however. Pickford twice looked to claim the ball from the resultant corner but saw none of it and an offside flag was all that stood in the way of England going behind.

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No need to panic given everything Pickford has done for England, but a stern reminder that the competition for his position is perhaps not currently what it needs to be.

Alexander-Arnold's place to lose?

Given everything has achieved in his career, it's perplexing to thing that the game against Greece saw the first time the star has started three games in a row for England. Of course, there has been no shortage of competition for the defender.

At 26, and wit h and ageing, Alexander-Arnold is primed to be England's first choice option, with Carsley already seeming to hint as much in his selections. While the side's performance was far from fluent, the full-back should offer plenty of flexibility with his ability in attack and to help out in the centre of the field.

Can Foden and Bellingham play together?

An optimist would say we might still be waiting for the answer. The first half ensured they were positioned well away from each other with Bellingham playing as a false 9, and Foden in a deeper midfield role.

Neither were operating in positions they have taken up regularly this season and while Bellingham did have some opportunities, neither player shined. Though few did at all for the Three Lions.

Things looked no better when the shape was changed after an hour when Ollie Watkins was introduced and Bellingham took up a place in midfield and Foden moved into a more advanced role. The star lasted little over 10 more before being replaced himself.

With the clock ticking down, Bellingham once again produced a moment to ensure his place will be secure in any England team.

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