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Interim England manager Lee Carsley has expressed that the national team’s top coaching role should go to the best candidate, regardless of nationality. His comments come after recent speculation links Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola to the position.
Carsley has recently ruled himself out of becoming England’s permanent manager, stating that the national team deserves a world-class coach who has won trophies, something he is yet to achieve early in his managerial career.
With Guardiola’s contract at Manchester City set to expire at the end of the season, the English Football Association (FA) reportedly made informal contact with him earlier this season to gauge his interest in succeeding Gareth Southgate. Guardiola, who has led Manchester City to six Premier League titles in eight seasons, would be a dream appointment for the FA.
However, Guardiola told Italian TV programme Che Tempo Che Fa on Sunday, “I haven’t decided yet. And it is not even true that I will be the next England coach. If I had decided I would say it,”
Another high-profile candidate for the role is Thomas Tuchel, the former manager of Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
England has previously appointed foreign managers, with Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello both taking the helm. When asked if the next England manager should be English, Carsley responded, “No, definitely not. I think it’s important that the best candidate gets the job,” Carsley said on whether the England manager had to be English. We’ve seen in the past that we’ve had different nationalities coach the team. The best candidate should get the job. I think we’d be putting ourselves in a corner if we didn’t, and we didn’t open our minds a bit.”
Despite speculation over his future, Carsley is expected to manage England’s final Nations League group matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland next month. However, his chances of securing the role permanently took a hit following a 2-1 defeat to Greece last week after he fielded an experimental line-up.
Carsley, who guided England’s under-21 side to a European Championship victory in 2023, admitted that the recent loss was difficult to accept.
