Palmer, Kane, Watkins, Saka, Gordon, Bellingham, Foden… who starts in England’s attack?

All it takes is one look at Lee Carsley’s announced squad list for England’s Nations League games against Greece and Finland to understand the wealth of attacking talent at the interim manager’s disposal.

Back in the group are Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, who scored four first-half goals for Chelsea against Brighton & Hove Albion last Saturday and is the Premier League’s man of the hour.

They join Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon, who all impressed in last month’s wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland, as well as the inexperienced Noni Madueke and Morgan Gibbs-White, who were given cameo appearances in those victories.

Then there is Dominic Solanke, back after an absence of almost seven years, challenging Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins for the No.9 role. So what combination of these players should Carsley put together for the games at Wembley and Helsinki?

Here are the assessments of some of them The athlete‘s authors. Please join the debate in the comments section below.

It’s the question that will define the Carsley era: How to make the most of the attacking talent at his disposal?

At the European Championships this summer, Gareth Southgate tried to let Foden and Bellingham play together but didn’t get much out of either and left Palmer on the bench. That option is certainly not open to Carsley as Palmer is the country’s most in-form player with six goals in the Premier League this season.

He should play behind the striker and move freely into shooting positions – the role Grealish had in the last camp.

Palmer was exceptional for Chelsea (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Kane also needs to start now as he appears to have recovered from his back injury. And Saka has started the season so well with Arsenal and is providing the equalizer on the right. So only one place in the top four remains.

It’s not easy to choose between Foden and Bellingham, but in this team I think Foden would be the better option. He is more involved in ball possession and, ideally, can challenge the opponent with his movement even without the ball.

This means that if Bellingham plays, he will have to go deeper, alongside Declan Rice in the middle of the pitch – not a bad option.

Jack Pitt Brooke

Carsley must now correct Southgate’s mistake at Euro 2024 and give Palmer a chance from the start.

The 22-year-old is arguably England’s most in-form player. Palmer played for Chelsea as a number 10 and scored six goals and provided four assists in the Premier League this season. He needs the chance to direct England’s attack from this position, which would mean Bellingham dropping deeper into midfield – although he is so good that it won’t hinder his contribution.

Saka’s appearances for Arsenal mean he has to play on the right, despite having Madueke in the squad who gets on well with his Chelsea teammate Palmer.

Gordon provides better balance for England on the left and showed signs of Newcastle finding better form against Manchester City last weekend. That would mean Foden, the PFA Player of the Year, doesn’t get a place, but he’s had a slow start to this season and isn’t as strong as the others.

Finally, England’s all-time leading goalscorer, Harry Kane, looks set to take the lead again. This quartet offers the variety at the top end of the pitch you want: pace, creativity and the ability to finish.

Simon Johnson

Since Kane’s best attribute is still his ability to drop backwards, it makes sense for England to have two wingers who are at their best with pincer-like runs backwards – that’s Gordon and Saka.

Palmer’s form from the middle was sensational. On the evidence of the last 18 months, he is effectively an evolution of the Grealish role that Carsley tried out during the last international break.

Palmer, Gordon and Saka are all flexible enough to switch during the game – as is Bellingham, who would work alongside Rice in central midfield in this formation. In this scenario, a good option would be to choose a full-back with reversal skills like Rico Lewis to strengthen the midfield.

There are certain games where, against deep opponents, it may make sense to move Palmer to the wing (or consider Foden) and have Bellingham as a box-crash option. These games are an opportunity to experiment with Kobbie Mainoo, Adam Wharton or Angel Gomes as a second midfielder.

However, in games against elite opponents, pure wingers supported by Palmer are England’s most dangerous combination.

Jacob Whitehead

With Finland and Greece both likely to sit in a mid-to-low block against England, space in the final third will be at a premium – making the energetic, transitional qualities of Gordon and Madueke less impactful.

However, as the game progresses and gaps appear, it is a nightmare for an opposing full-back to use a winger against tired legs.

Kane will undoubtedly be in the starting XI and Palmer’s exceptional form makes him impossible to leave out. Playing the 22-year-old in a similar role to that at Chelsea would give him the freedom to exploit spaces and punish the opposition as he sees fit.

On the wing, Saka is perfectly suited to breaking through a stubborn defensive block from the right and has regular experience of doing so at Arsenal.

On the left, Bellingham may not offer the speed needed on the outside, but his ability to find the space he needs would be vital to England’s creativity in tight areas. Bellingham was able to penetrate inside with his typical box-crash run and break through the opposing defensive line. His discipline off the ball should not be underestimated either, as he has shown that he can assert himself in both the English defense on the left side for both his club and his country.

Mark Carey

Carsley explained at his press conference at St George’s Park that he had made some decisions because he wanted to “use this time over the next two camps to experiment and look at other players”.

He should do that and maybe experiment and see if he can may Integrating all of his best attacking players into one team.

Palmer is crying out to get into the starting lineup, preferably in a position where he can have the most impact on the team – number 10. But what about Bellingham, another of England’s best players? Well, in games where attacking deep blocked defenses is important, why not try him out in midfield alongside Rice, who occasionally has license to move forward?

So what about Foden? On his day he’s a real underdog, so play him on the left versus Saka on the right.

But that would mean Gordon would lose the pace and ability to run behind him, especially as Kane no longer stresses his defence. So could this be an opportunity to rest him? He remains a regular goalscorer but looked tired as Bayern Munich lost to Aston Villa in the Champions League game this week.

Should Watkins replace Kane? (James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)

So if we’re talking about Villa having made a great start to the season, why not play Watkins? His game combines speed, movement and the ability to run behind the defense. Now it’s time to see if he can keep up with this stunning array of creative talent.

That’s what a brave manager would do.

Rob Tanner

Go deeper

Lee Carsley’s England squad: experiments, the attacking problem and a ruthless series

(Top photo: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)