Carsley far from comfortable despite perfect England start

Lee Carsley still feels far from comfortable in his role as interim England boss, though he was delighted to see the Three Lions make a perfect start to their Nations League campaign.

Harry Kane scored twice on his 100th international appearance as England beat Finland 2-0 at Wembley on Tuesday, having overcome the Republic of Ireland by the same scoreline on Saturday.

The victory made Carsley the first England manager to win his first two competitive games at the helm to nil since Steve McLaren achieved the feat in 2006.

Such was England’s dominance against Ireland and Finland that goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was only forced into one save across the two games, in the 11th minute on Saturday.

Despite his impressive start, Carsley – who is seen as a leading contender to get the job on a permanent basis – feels there is plenty more to come.

“I definitely don’t feel comfortable still, I have been out of my comfort zone,” he told ITV Sport.

“It’s been enjoyable but we have to make sure every single day we are producing high standards.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to get two good results and it’s all about building on that.”

Pickford, meanwhile, has been impressed by the impact made by some of the new faces called up by Carsley, many of whom played under him at under-21 level.

“It is new and it has been a short camp. A lot of young lads won the Under-21 Euros with the manager and they know the ideas,” the Everton goalkeeper said.

“t was refreshing for the older lads – I always want to improve. With England there is a pathway from the younger age groups.

“The amount that come from the under-16s and get opportunities to play for the seniors is there, and it has been there on the manager side as well.”

Lille midfielder Angel Gomes was among those to impress on his full debut, becoming the first player to start for England while playing for a French club since Marseille’s Trevor Steven in June 1992 (versus France).

Gomes had more touches (130) and completed more passes (116) than any other player, while only Jack Grealish (53) bettered his 42 passes in the final third.

Chelsea’s Noni Madueke also made his first England appearance from the bench, replacing Bukayo Saka and making a swift impact by teeing up Kane’s second goal.

“It was great to make my first appearance for the national team and I’m really proud of myself,” the winger told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It has been a great week, the boys are great and the staff and players have made me feel welcome.

“It tried to go out there and be direct and cause problems. I got an assist for Harry on his 100th appearance – it can’t get much better than that. It is fitting that Harry got both goals, it is his night.”