First and foremost, we must offer an apology. Yesterday around this time, Football Daily might have implied that while the Nations League was created to eliminate meaningless, one-sided international friendlies and instead match national teams of comparable skill, the England team was too strong to be competing in its second tier. We seemed to suggest that they would easily handle a distracted and troubled Greece team, thereby enhancing Lee Carsley’s prospects of securing the full-time managerial position. In light of the undeniable evidence from the 95 minutes at Wembley, we are pleased to acknowledge our errors and offer our sincere apologies to our readers for these misjudgments. However, in our defense, we note that unlike others, our speculative musings were penned and published before the match. Since the game, we’ve observed that some pundits and media figures have used Greece’s comprehensive victory as a blunt instrument to harshly criticize those who previously argued that England’s lack of silverware under Gareth Southgate was due to his overly cautious approach. “SEE!” they proclaimed. “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RELAX THE REINS!!! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ABANDON CAUTION TO SATISFY IGNORANT FANS WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF TEAM STRUCTURE!!!” This is all well and good, except, as Football Daily recalls, most of these so-called fans were content with Southgate’s selections but wanted the players to stop endlessly passing the ball sideways and backwards. None of them, except perhaps the most extreme, called for Southgate to field two attacking full-backs, two wingers, three No 10s, and no striker. While a defeat in a Nations League match doesn’t significantly impact England, Thursday’s debacle, where Greece scored twice, had the ball in the net five times, and another shot was miraculously cleared off the line, could harm Carsley’s chances of securing the full-time role. One loss shouldn’t derail his prospects, but his selection gamble backfired spectacularly, unnecessarily giving the FA a reason to bypass him when appointing a new manager. Assuming Carsley even wants the job, that is. “My remit has been clear,” he stated after the game when asked if he felt he’d botched his audition. “I’m doing three camps, there are three games left, and then hopefully I’ll return to the under-21s.” Asked the same question in different ways, Carsley reiterated his stance. “The remit was clear,” he repeated for emphasis. “I’m comfortable and confident with that. After the first camp, I didn’t get too excited or believe too much. I’m very aware that this job is one of the best in the world.” Next up is Helsinki on Sunday, where anything less than a win will likely end his chances of discovering just how challenging the role can be.