England interim manager Lee Carsley at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Finland on Oct. 13.Lee Smith/Reuters
After three wins from four games as England interim coach, Lee Carsley appeared to distance himself from taking on the job full time.
A 3-1 victory against Finland in the Nations League on Sunday saw England get back to winning ways after the shock 2-1 home loss to Greece. But Carsley sounded uncertain about his credentials to succeed Gareth Southgate in one of the biggest management roles in world soccer.
“This job deserves a world-class coach that’s won trophies and been there and done it and I’m still on the path to that,” Carsley said after goals from Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice secured the win in Helsinki.
Carsley led England’s under-21 team to victory in the European Championship last year and was seen as one of the leading contenders to replace Southgate, who stepped down in July.
But after naming an experimental team that lost to Greece on Thursday, questions about his suitability were raised. If not for some errant finishing from No. 64-ranked Finland, Sunday could have been another uncomfortable night for an England team ranked 60 places higher.
Carsley said he hadn’t enjoyed the days after the loss to Greece.
“I’m just not used to losing with an England team. I don’t take losing very well,” he said.
Grealish helped lift his mood when opening the scoring from close range in the 18th minute at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium after being set up by a clever flick from Angel Gomes.
Alexander-Arnold doubled England’s lead in the 74th with a trademark free kick and Rice converted at the near post 10 minutes later from substitute Ollie Watkins’s cross.
Arttu Hoskonen scored a consolation for Finland in the 87th.
England is second in Group B2 and trails leader Greece on goal difference, having played a game more.
Carsley said his remit was to take charge of the six Nations League games before the end of the year, with two left against Greece and Ireland next month.
“My bosses have made it totally clear what they need from me,” he said.
Canada’s Smith scores historic goal for Liverpool women
Canadian international Olivia Smith made history in a losing cause Sunday, scoring the first-ever goal for the Liverpool women at storied Anfield.
The 20-year-old from Whitby, Ont., outpaced a Manchester City defender to the ball after a long Liverpool goal kick and beat goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita in the 41st minute with a low, bouncing shot from well outside the penalty box. Jamaican international Khadija Shaw scored twice in the second half, in the 58th and 92nd minute, as City rallied for a 2-1 victory.
Smith did not make it out for the second half, after suffering a knock.
The game was the Liverpool’s women’s fourth-ever league outing match at Anfield. It had lost the previous three without scoring a single goal, all against Everton – beaten 1-0 in November of 2019, 3-0 in September of 2022 and 1-0 last October.
The women are slated to play two more Barclays Women’s Super League games this season at Anfield, home to the Liverpool men, against Manchester United on March 16 and Everton on May 4. The Liverpool women play their other games at St. Helens Stadium.
Smith joined Liverpool in July from Sporting CP after a season that saw her named the Portuguese women’s league’s best young player with 13 goals and nine assists in 18 league appearances. She was chosen Liverpool’s player of the month in September in a fan poll on Liverpoolfc.com. And her first goal for the club, in a 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Sept. 29, was nominated for the Barclays Women’s Super League goal of the month award. Smith has won 10 caps for Canada, making her senior debut at 15.
Man City (3-0-1) tops the Super League table while Liverpool (1-1-2) stands fifth.
Earlier, close-season signing Elisabeth Terland got her first two goals for Manchester United as it beat visiting Tottenham Hotspur 3-0, while Brighton continued its excellent start to the season with a 1-0 win at promoted Crystal Palace.
Those wins left United and Brighton level on nine points with second-placed Chelsea and above Liverpool and Arsenal in fifth and sixth on five, Spurs with four and Palace on three.
Everton remain bottom on two points after a 1-1 stalemate with visitors West Ham United, which stays one place above it on goal difference, while Aston Villa and Leicester City played out a 0-0 stalemate to leave both teams also on two points.