After England’s U21 Triumph, It’s Not Too Late to Ditch Tuchel and Rehire Carsley originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Lee Carsley just led England to their second successive U21 European Championships with a stunning 3-2 victory over Germany, a victory made slightly more ironic by the fact that Carsley was replaced as (temporary) England manager by the German Thomas Tuchel.
Along the way the Young Lions dispatched tournament favorites Spain and the Netherlands. It’s a remarkable feat and one achieved with the team playing fearless attacking soccer.
The self-belief that Carsley has instilled in his squad seems to be exactly what England have been lacking at senior level in recent games.
The FA’s German Gamble
Thomas Tuchel has an impressive resume, but the FA took a huge gamble employing him and so far results and performances have been mediocre at best. The team has looked disjointed in World Cup qualifies and devoid of creativity when facing a low block. Their most recent game ended in a 3-1 home loss to Senegal – the first time an African nation has ever beaten England
The elephant in the room here is Tuchel’s nationality. Lest we forget, there’s history where England and Germany are concerned. Right-leaning newspapers like the Daily Mail and Sun were quick to criticize the FA for not employing an English manager.
That press – and their readers – will have little patience if the German can’t get the best out of the attacking talents at his disposal. Dour defensive football is ultimately what led the fans to turn on Gareth Southgate, despite his impressive results. And he was English.
Smiling Again
Tuchel’s struggles are bought into stark focus when compared not just to Carsley’s U21 success – but also how well Carsley performed in the England manager role in the six games that he oversaw as their temporary boss.
England won five and lost one, scoring an impressive 16 goals and conceding just 3 along the way. It’s true that Carsley was vilified for that one loss, a 2-1 defeat to Greece when he went for broke with an experimental line-up that featured most of England’s star forwards in the same team – just as fans had been urging him to do.
But Carsley did everyone a favor by picking that team for a relatively meaningless game. It exposed the tactical flaws of trying to cram Palmer, Foden, Saka, Gordon and Bellingham into the starting 11. It was bold; it didn’t work; you move on.
Senior players like Kane, Bellingham and Grealish specifically highlighted how Carsley brought back a sense of enjoyment to playing for England. That’s something that’s already has been sorely missing under Tuchel.
It’s inconceivable that the FA will ditch Tuchel now, especially as it would cost them a fortune. But if England continue to limp lifelessly towards the 2026 World Cup, the clamor to put that smile back on the face of the England team – and fans – will continue to grow. Carsley has proved he is the man for the job.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.