Watkins gamble pays off to leave tricky Kane question

In the tale of the captain and the caretaker, Lee Carsley’s great gamble paid off.

- JAMES MOORE

England managers can be defined by a decision involving a talismanic striker. Graham Taylor ended Gary Lineker’s international career to bring on Alan Smith. Alf Ramsey preferred Geoff Hurst to Jimmy Greaves for a World Cup final. One got it wrong, the other very right.

Carsley’s reign will be briefer, the stakes lower. But if it risked being remembered for one selection, it was justified. Harry Kane, the skipper who criticised the teammates who did not seem to want to play for England, was himself denied a start.

Ollie Watkins began instead, scored with his first touch and set England on course to a redemptive win. Wretched at Wembley last month, when they lost to Greece, they exacted revenge in ultimately impressive fashion. The worst game of Carsley’s tenure came against Greece. So, now, did the best.

A month ago, his tactics were misjudged, his team mismatched, a centre-forward abandoned to pack in a battalion of attacking midfielders. In the rematch, Carsley chose a specialist No 9; just not the usual one. If there is a courageousness to some of his choices, there was vindication, too.