England's interim boss has explained his decision to drop captain Harry Kane, who was recently critical of some of his teammates, to the bench on Thursday night.
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Lee Carsley made a bold decision ahead of Thursday's UEFA Nations League clash against Greece, opting to hand Ollie Watkins a starting role over Kane.
The 31-year-old was critical of those international colleagues who withdrew from Carsley's selection ahead of the break, a list that consisted of eight players, including Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.
The change saw right-back Kyle Walker take on the captain's armband in the absence of the Bayern Munich striker, who started the match on the bench.
Watkins wasted no time in proving Carsley's faith, scoring inside the opening 10 minutes in Athens to put the Three Lions in front. His early goal gave England a lead going into half-time, and they were able to extend it after the break.
An own goal from Greece's goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos doubled the advantage, before an ingenious flick from debutant Curtis Jones sealed the win.
Despite his absence from the starting XI, Kane made his 102nd international appearance, replacing Watkins in the 66th minute. However, he failed to add to his record tally of 68 goals for England.
Before the game, Carsley explained his decision to start Watkins, highlighting the importance of giving the Aston Villa striker the chance to gain valuable international experience.
"It was important to give Ollie Watkins an opportunity," Carsley said in an interview with ITV ahead of kick-off.
"To experience a night like this will be great for himself. This team needs to try and create leaders, and one way to do that is give them opportunities.
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When asked about Kane's reaction to being left out of the starting XI, Carsley was full of praise for his captain's attitude. "He is fine. He wants to play, but his attitude has been fantastic," he added.
