Lee Carsley believes England's new generation of players are less affected by pressure and better able to cope with the demands of international football.
Several players who led England Under-21 to European titles under Carsley last year have been selected for the caretaker manager's first senior squad, most notably former Manchester United and Lille midfielder Angel Gomes.
Chelsea's Noni Madueke, a substitute in England's victory over Spain in the 2023 final, was also selected after scoring a hat-trick against Wolves last Sunday. The 22-year-old was booed by local fans throughout the game after making derogatory comments about Wolves on social media, but Carsley held him up as an example of young players' ability to “take it cool”.
“It's not just Noni,” he said when it was pointed out that Madueke hadn't overstayed his welcome. “But what I noticed when I looked at the players at the Euros was [the under 21s]people of that generation and age group don't seem to feel that. They just accept it.
“Before the game, maybe before the semifinal, I knew they would be a little nervous. I went into the cafeteria and there was music playing, a couple of people were dancing and they were playing ping pong. I thought, 'Wait a minute, aren't they nervous? Should I make them aware that they should be nervous?' Whatever you put in front of them, they find a way to deal with it.”
“I think a lot of our players have had that expectation their whole life and their whole career. They've probably been the best players of all time. The thing about all of them is their attitude and their effort is always the first thing we look for. Ability is great, but if you can work hard as part of a team, if you have the talent, it really helps.”
Harry Kane was unfortunate enough to be substituted after 61 minutes in the Euros final against Spain but was retained as captain for the Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, but Carsley is rooting for the Bayern Munich forward to return to his best form.
“It's really easy to be reactive at certain times,” he said. “Some guys just have a bad game or aren't on top form. I'm not saying he falls into that category, but there's an expectation and pressure on him to score goals and be a leader and I don't think that's going to change.”
After newsletter promotion
“If you look at the games he's played and how he's been since he's come back, he's in good form, he looks very healthy. So that's what I have to judge. What happened in the summer, whether he was in good form or not, whether he had a good tournament or not, that's in the past now. It's a question of what to do from now on.”
