Cubs roar to help Three Lions soar

Lee Carsley claimed Englandrsquos 30 win over Greece showed the strength in depth that awaits Thomas Tuchel when he takes over as coachEngland were hit by a rash of withdrawals before Thursdayrsquos Nations League clash here but Carsleyrsquos team made light of the star absences to keep alive their hopes of promotion to the eventrsquos top tierBukayo Saka Phil Foden Trent AlexanderArnold and Phil Foden were among nine players to pull out of Englandrsquos last two games of 2024 amid speculation they were encouraged by their club England captain Harry Kane launched a scathing attack on the stayaways insisting international duty should come before anything else Kane was surprisingly dropped to the bench by interim boss Carsley after his outburst but England were unfazedAlso ReadThere was a lot more blue in the crowd than actually green VVS Laxman on support for Team IndiaLee Carsley right with goalscorer Curtis JamesKanersquos replacement Ollie Watkins gave them an early lead before Greece goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos deflected Jude Bellinghamrsquos shot into his own net Curtis Jonesrsquo audacious backflicked effort wrapped up a win that put England top of Group B2They are guaranteed to win promotion to League A with a win over Ireland at Wembley on Sunday Carsley spoke of the vast array of quality that former Bayern Munich boss Tuchel will inherit when he finally takes the reins on January 1 ldquoItrsquos just important the players play to their strengths We have got a lot of outstanding talent The players who were not here we concentrated on the ones that were We spoke yesterday about players getting an opportunity and we have seen that tonight People were speaking about the inexperience within the squad but these players play week in and week out in the Premier League at a really high levelrdquo Carsley saidAfter losing to Greece for the first time ever at Wembley in October this was a sweet moment for Carsley who was then criticised for his tactics Chelsea winger Noni Madueke caught the eye with an assist for Watkinsrsquo opener while Jones and Anthony Gordon also impressedAssessing Englandrsquos longterm prospects Carsley said ldquoIt represents we are moving in the right direction Yoursquore now seeing quality in terms of the younger ones that theyrsquore more than capable Think about the two wide players Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke so attacking so direct Curtis was outstanding tonightrdquo said CarsleyItaly France book quarterfinal spotsLONDON Italy ensured a quarterfinal spot in the Nations League beating Belgium on Thursday that also guaranteed France a place in the lasteight despite a goalless draw with Israel Italy were economical as they beat Belgium 10 in Group A2 The visitors dominated the early stages and scored after 11 minutes Slick play by fullback Giovanni Di Lorenzo set up Sandro Tonali for a tap inAt the Stade de France tentative France struggled to create chances as they drew 00 with Israel before a sparse and grumbling crowd The game took place under heavy security after fans from the Maccabi Tel Aviv club were attacked in Amsterdam last week following a Europa League match against AjaxThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever