Lee Carsley has promotion in sight before handing England reins to Thomas Tuchel

Lee Carsley hopes to have helped Thomas Tuchel by being different with his selection and approach during his interim England reign – something that has led to praise and some service station sermons.

Sunday’s Nations League clash with the Republic of Ireland marks the end of his six-game stint as Gareth Southgate’s interim successor, with Tuchel starting his quest to win the 2026 World Cup in the new year.

Carsley returns to his post as England Under-21s boss having leant on many young talents he knows well from last year’s European Championship triumph in Georgia.

That influence will be evident again as he looks to end his reign with a Wembley win against the nation he represented as a player, which would mean handing over to Tuchel on the back of Nations League promotion.

Asked if he would like to do the England job on a permanent basis one day, Carsley said: “What we have shown as a staff is that we can do it.

“I think it is really beneficial to the FA that we are in the building if needs be. In 18 months, who knows.

“I think tomorrow will have a big weight on that in terms of can we get the job done? Can we get promotion, which sets us up for the World Cup draw?

“It’s an experience that I have enjoyed. Not looking too far ahead of tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to hopefully doing well, winning the game, and then hopefully retaining the title in the summer with the 21s.”

Carsley has tried to change things during his caretaker role with England, who have reached two finals in their last three tournaments but “as close as we got we haven’t won yet”.

“Naturally I think you always want to do things that are comfortable and cause you the least amount of harm,” Carsley said. “But I’m not sure we’re going to get