The Three Lions kick off their UEFA Under-21 Championship campaign as the title holders and despite Chelsea signing Liam Delap opting to play in the Club World Cup, Carsley’s side are considered favourites due to the sheer quality in the side. Charlie Cresswell and Harvey Elliott are the only players who remain from that winning squad and now Carsley has spoken on how his side may look slightly out of form.
The Three Lions may be a little shaky
“It's a case of being able to adapt,' he said. 'I expect at times against a really strong Czech team that it may look a little bit unorganised, it may look a little bit clunky.
“I've made that known to the players as well that they shouldn't expect too much too soon. I think the longer we can stay in the tournament, the more these players can play together.”
Flexibility is key
Manchester City midfielder James McAtee will captain England when they open against Czech Republic in Dunajska Streda on Thursday. Elliott, Ethan Nwaneri, Jonathan Rowe and Omari Hutchinson are all options for Carsley in a squad filled with talent that could run away with the competition this year. Carsley admits the flexibility in the side may be a challenge.
“The main thing is that I adapt and put the tactics around the players' attributes, not how I see it, but what they can do and what they're good at,' he added.
“It's a challenge because we were talking about it on the car on the way here. We've got a lot of really good players.
“If you could choose 16 starters, that would be a lot easier! We've already spoken to the players about it and going from past experience, I'm not sure anyone, if we were to get to the final, would play 690 minutes.
“That's why picking the squad is so important, that you get the balance right, and you've got the players that are capable of playing, recovering and being able to go again.”
England are in it to win it
Carsley finished off by stating that his squad will enter the competition with the mindset of success, their aim is to win the tournament and nothing else as the squad prepares to retain their title.
“We've not come to Slovakia for potentially three weeks for a break,' he said.
“I want the players to be in a position where England have qualified for a major tournament, we're expected to win and why not? Why can't we? Why shouldn't we? Why shouldn't we prepare to win? And that's what we're trying to do.”