‘Hopefully’ - Lee Carsley drops major England hint amid Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe links

England looked like they had rescued a point against Greece when Jude Bellingham struck late to cancel out Vangelis Pavlidis’ opener. However, Pavlidis was on hand to smash home past Jordan Pickford again to inflict England their first defeat in a competitive game at Wembley since the delayed Euro 2020 final against Italy.

The result against Greece severely dented England’s chances of finishing top of their Nations League group with the Three Lions needing to respond well against Finland on Sunday evening. For Carsley, that match marked the third of his six games as interim boss and his first defeat in that time, raising questions about his long-term future as England manager and the possibility of him being given the job on a permanent basis.

Speaking post-match, the former Everton man dropped a major hint over his future with the FA: "I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of ‘the job is mine’ and ‘it’s mine to lose’ and all the rest of it.” Carsley admitted.

“My remit has been clear from the start - I’m doing three camps. There are three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the Under-21. It has almost no impact.”

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe is among the frontrunners to become permanent England manager if the FA opt to move away from appointing Carsley as Southgate’s successor. Thomas Tuchel, who left Bayern Munich this summer, has also been linked with the vacancy, with Graham Potter also among the leading candidates.

Howe, Tuchel, Potter and Carsley seem to be the most likely options for the FA who are expected to announce Southgate’s permanent successor sometime after the November international break. Speaking in July about speculation linking him with England, Howe said: “So, for me, being very, very proud to be Newcastle manager, this is all about Newcastle,” Howe told reporters during their pre-season training camp in Germany.

“It’s not about England. So, as long as I am happy, feel supported, feel free to work in the way that I want to work, I have not thought of anything else other than Newcastle.”