LEE CARSLEY unleashed a rarely seen tactic during England’s match against Greece.
The Three Lions faced off against Greece at Wembley in the Uefa Nations League.
However, with captain Harry Kane rested as a precaution following a knock he received with Bayern Munich, Carsley opted to go bold with his selection.
Rather than simply replace Kane with one of Ollie Watkins or Dominic Solanke in the line-up, Carsley went for a team filled with talented attacking midfielders.
Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden were asked to be the team’s main attacking force down the middle, while Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon provided the width.
And in a shock twist, ITV‘s chief statistician, “King Joel”, could not find another example where England had played without a recognised centre-forward.
Roy Keane and Ian Wright were baffled by the exclusion of Aston Villa ace Watkins, with Keane saying “he will be fuming”.
Wright added he was “disappointed for Ollie Watkins”, given it would have been a strong chance for him to try and stake a claim to start.
Taking to social media, fans had a mixed reaction to the bold new tactic.
One user said: “Exciting, innovative, Barcelona did something similar when [Cesc] Fabregas tended to be their furthest man forward.”
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A second said: “Agree, Watkins won’t be happy. Foden barely played this season, odd move by Carsley.”
A third said: “Feel this is another manager sacrificing balance just to accommodate players it can be OK if we bench players no matter who they play for.”
Another said: “A team packed full of wingers and No10s but no striker. That could be a fun watch.”
A fifth added: “We’ve gone from one clown to another it seems! No striker in the 11 but two sitting on the bench.”
A sixth said: “All out attack. [Gareth] Southgate would never.”
A tribute was also paid to the late George Baldock, who died at the age of 31 earlier this week.
