Jordan Pickford makes surprise claim over failed England experiment against Greece: 'Not far off'

Interim manager Lee Carsley picked an antithetic enactment successful which helium did not commencement a accepted striker, and it backfired arsenic England mislaid 2-1 to the Greeks to bring his 100 per cent winning tally to an end.

Carsley admitted helium “might person gone down a antithetic route” if Harry Kane had been fit, but helium was not capable to prime his skipper owed to a sound Kane picked up connected Bayern Munich work successful the Bundesliga past weekend.

Kane was assessed connected Friday and a determination volition beryllium made arsenic to whether helium tin play a portion successful Sunday’s adjacent Nations League lucifer against Finland successful Helsinki.

“Not the perfect night,” goalkeeper Pickford said. “We’ve got to regroup and look astatine what we could person done better.

“I deliberation they caught america retired a bit, but we knew they were going to person transitions and it's astir america getting backmost into shape. We did it ample parts of the evening, and a mates of times we got caught.

“Now we’ve conscionable got to spell and triumph distant connected Sunday against Finland and successful the adjacent campy bushed Greece distant and Ireland astatine home.”

England cannot spend to driblet much points if they are to instrumentality to Nations League A, arsenic lone the apical broadside from each four-team radical earns automatic promotion. Greece presently pb England by 3 points successful Group B2.

“We haven't had long,” said Pickford. “Neither person Greece, obviously. But we've not had agelong to get ourselves ready. Everyone has played a batch of games implicit the past month. The manager and the unit person got to negociate the lads’ loads.”

Pickford was asked whether Carsley had bowed to the public’s tendency to spot much attacking players selected successful England lineups — a hangover from disapproval of erstwhile manager Gareth Southgate’s perceived tactical caution.

“That societal media broadside I ne'er look at,” helium said. “On the transportation you know, I'm conscionable solely focused connected the game. We privation to springiness the fans enjoyment but besides beryllium coagulated astatine the back, support cleanable sheets and springiness that level to spell and fto the attacking benignant travel retired connected top.”

Asked whether England were unbalanced without a striker against Greece until Ollie Watkins came disconnected the seat connected the hr mark, Pickford replied: “We weren't acold off. It was lone those 2 oregon 3 transitions wherever we got caught. Apart from that we controlled it. It’s astir however we get acceptable for the adjacent 1 now.”