Expectations are low before England close their uneven Nations League campaign with tomorrow's trip to Greece and Sunday's home game against the Republic of Ireland. The withdrawals are piling up, fatigue is rising and Thomas Tuchel has decided that he has better things to do than show up to watch the team that he will inherit from Lee Carsley in January.
Yet there is still meaning to be found in these fixtures and if Tuchel could ask for one favour from Carsley it would surely be to leave him a functioning left-back. England, who clambered to the final of Euro 2024 with the right-footed Kieran Trippier dutifully playing on his weaker side while Luke Shaw battled for full fitness, are crying out for someone to step up and make the position their own.
Many have tried and many have failed in the decade since Ashley Cole's international career ended. Nobody has stood out more than Shaw but the Manchester United defender's body has repeatedly let him down, restricting him to 34 caps in the past 10 years, and he has been unavailable since the Euros. Carsley, like Gareth Southgate before him, has had to grasp for solutions. The interim even tried Trent Alexander-Arnold on the left in England's previous game, last month's win in Finland.
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