Next England boss: Lee Carsley tipped to ‘force FA’s hand’ before having ‘decent tilt’ at ’26 World Cup

Lee Carsley is the current interim England manager but the 50-year-old has been tipped to “force the FA’s hand” and earn the full-time job.

Carsley took over from Gareth Southgate after he failed to bring home England’s first European Championship despite guiding them to the final, where they lost 2-1 to Spain.

Former England interim manager Stuart Pearce reckons Carsley will be given the opportunity to manage England permanently if he manages to impress during the international break.

It is the same scenario as Southgate taking over from Sam Allardyce in 2016 after he lost his job after a single game in charge.

Pearce’s first match as England boss was a 3-2 friendly defeat to the Netherlands as Roy Hodgson was eventually named the replacement for Fabio Capello and Pearce admitted he “was not ready” for the job.

Pearce explained his time as England manager and the struggles that came with it.

“I told him [ex-FA boss Sir Trevor Brooking] I didn’t think I was ready for that leap,” Pearce told the Sun . “I felt I needed more experience. I always knew I was doing it for the one game. When you haven’t managed at international level, coming in from the outside, it can be daunting.

“I’m sure Lee will feel that pressure but he’s worked inside the FA for a number of years and understands the pressure. That’s why he’ll be OK. Carsley was a common-sense approach. He has trod the same path as Southgate and these games are not high-pressure ones.

“This will buy the FA some time to have a look at other candidates. But make no mistake, this is an audition for Lee. It is a fantastic opportunity to show what he can do. And if he does well, he might just force the FA’s hand. If he thinks this job is for him, he must utilise these games to bed in for a decent tilt at the 2026 World Cup.”

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Carsley has remained stoic on the potential full-time employment as he said: “To be honest, I’ve not really thought about it that much. “Honestly I’ve not. My priority is just doing a good job.

“Ultimately this is up there with the best jobs in football. We’ve potentially got a unique period of time — which will pass — where we’ve got some outstanding players. Someone needs to get the absolute best out of them.

“We have done so far, because we’ve got to the latter stage of tournaments. We’ve been so close. The best person for the job will do it [full-time]. I think people are really excited about the future. Just missing out in the final, people know that we’re close.”

England faces the Republic of Ireland and Finland in their two games in the UEFA Nations League.