England host Greece at Wembley on Thursday in Group B2 of the UEFA Nations League with both teams looking to extend their perfect starts in the latest edition of the tournament. Lee Carsley made an impressive start to his interim tenure against the Republic of Ireland and Finland in the last international break in September, while Ivan Jovanović also began his stewardship of the Greek national team with wins against the same opposition. Greece lead the group by way of goal difference as it stands, something England will be looking to overturn when the sides meet.

The fixture is indelibly etched into the memory of many England fans after David Beckham's last-gasp free-kick in October 2002 earned a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford and sealed the Three Lions' passage to the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

England's Tactical Dilemma: Bellingham as a False Nine?

This is now the first real test of Lee Carsley's reign as England manager. It is the first time his side have gone behind, or even conceded, in his three matches and this Greece team look a lot more organised than both Republic of Ireland and Finland before them. The visitors have certainly looked more of a threat in front of goal than the home side.

Lee Carsley has considered springing a major surprise and trialling Jude Bellingham as a false nine, as the interim manager looks at how to cram as much star talent into his England team as possible. With captain Harry Kane likely to sit out Thursday night’s game against Greece after training on his own again on Wednesday, Carsley has been assessing his options, which include Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke. But despite having two other out-and-out strikers to call on, Carsley is also understood to have given serious consideration to starting Bellingham as a false nine with Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon all starting with him.

Palmer and Foden could be given the licence to roam from deeper midfield positions alongside Declan Rice, with Saka and Gordon starting either side of Bellingham. While such a move might excite many fans, it could also prompt criticism of Carsley given Bellingham is yet to score for Real Madrid this season and Watkins and Solanke have both been in good form.

Watkins, who scored England’s late winner in the European Championship semi-final win over the Netherlands as a substitute, has scored four goals for Villa this season, while Solanke has been on target three times for Tottenham. While Bellingham has not yet scored this season, he finished the last campaign with 27 goals for club and country, and successfully played as a false nine for Real Madrid.

The Greece game in the Nations League at Wembley is potentially Carsley’s most important in terms of trying to land the permanent England job and experimenting with Bellingham would need to work. He played Gordon as a false nine for the England Under-21s and used Palmer in a deeper midfield role than he plays for Chelsea. Former England manager Gareth Southgate did not start Palmer at the Euros and could not find a way of fitting him, Bellingham, Foden, Saka and Gordon all into the same XI.

Asked about Watkins and Solanke, and his options without Kane, Carsley said: “They both fully deserve to be here. The form they’ve both been in is very good. I spoke to them both about how important it is to stay in and around the squad. Not so much Ollie but more Dom – that challenge to stay, to keep being consistent at Spurs and keep putting in the performances. Along with a few of the players who can play at No 9, we’ve got plenty of options in that position but obviously Harry’s been the outstanding player for so long for us now. But I feel like we’ve definitely got a Plan B.”

A Deeper Dive into the Tactical Nuances

Most times, it looks like a 4-2-2-2 without the ball, with Anthony Gordon wide left, Bukayo Saka on the right, and Phil Foden alongside Jude Bellingham up front. Cole Palmer is sitting deep next to Declan Rice in central midfield, ahead of a more orthodox back four. Call me old-fashioned, but I wouldn't mind seeing a more traditional striker like Ollie Watkins or Dominic Solanke come on in the second half to provide more of a physical presence. At times, the attacking midfield area has looked too crowded. Too many cooks and all that.

The solution Carsley is considering against Greece means playing none of the trio in the No 10 role, which they all appear to prefer. Instead, it may well be a 4-3-3 which would allow Palmer and Foden to work in more central areas, moving forward from midfield, with Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon providing the width.

“Phil’s an unbelievable player, we’re very lucky to have someone with his talent and mentality, and we need to make sure we put him in positions where he can really affect the opposition,” Carsley said, suggesting he does not want Foden out wide where he started the Euros for England. “Sometimes playing him in wider positions, he can do it, but we’d have to change the way we play to get the best out of him. He’d be central a lot, wider maybe when we’re out of possession. I think in central areas Phil’s at his most effective.”

Making that work and being “effective” with Bellingham and Palmer will be the key for Carsley. It is when he is driving between games that Lee Carsley allows himself what might just be his most important thinking time if – as expected – he is to be England’s next permanent manager. And, crucially, a successful England manager.

Finding a solution to fit Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer into a team has been occupying Carsley’s mind and may well define his time in charge, and also England’s prospects of succeeding at the next World Cup.

Against Greece, in a Nations League tie at Wembley, we may well receive a glimpse into Carsley’s thinking with the possibility of Bellingham playing as a “false nine” – in Harry Kane’s absence – and with Palmer and Foden in midfield in what could be an extremely attacking and fluid line-up.

When he announced his squad last week, Carsley suggested the short-term solution, given the varying amounts of game-time the players have so far received, would be to rotate them, with England also facing Finland away on Sunday. But he also said he needed to get “creative”. With Kane struggling through injury, and again not training on Wednesday, it appears Carsley is considering a fairly surprising proposal.

“I’ve definitely got a plan in place,” England’s interim head coach said when asked whether he had an idea of how he would fit in Bellingham, Foden and Palmer into his starting XI. “The beauty of this job is you get a lot of time to think. In between driving from game to game you are constantly thinking about combinations, relationships.”

Presumably, though, that plan is not this one. Unless Carsley is considering an even more drastic approach – and there is no indication that he is – of phasing out Kane, who will be heading towards his 33rd birthday come the World Cup.

It appears tough on Ollie Watkins and, less so as it is his first call-up in seven years, Dominic Solanke, that Carsley is debating whether to go without a specialist No 9, but he certainly cannot be accused of not being bold. Both Foden and Palmer have occupied that false-nine role for their clubs in the past. So maybe there will be some interchanging in Carsley’s approach against Greece, even if he is mulling over whether to begin with Bellingham, who played there for Real Madrid last season, in that position.

How Carsley eventually solves the conundrum if and when everyone is fit is a far bigger question. It goes to the heart of the age-old debate for international managers: how do you get your best players into the team and still make them function?

A Legacy in the Making?

Before the last European Championship I wrote that attempting to fit Bellingham, Foden and Palmer into a team could be Gareth Southgate’s “Paul Scholes moment”. That referred to Sven-Goran Eriksson’s inability to successfully integrate Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard into his side. Unfortunately for Southgate, he did not find the right answer, with Palmer not starting any of England’s seven games, making five substitute appearances amounting to around 85 minutes on the pitch.

It is remarkable, therefore, that this fixture will represent the first competitive start for England men’s player of the year. Palmer finished ahead of Bellingham and Bukayo Saka in the vote by England fans, revealed on Tuesday, but has earned just nine caps and made only two starts, both in friendlies. In Germany he came on five times – in the 70th minute, 80th, 78th, 66th and 71st minute in the final against Spain, when he scored England’s equalising goal.

Cometh the COLE! 🥶pic.twitter.com/qwFfYbLuw6

The fans’ vote appears pointed, so was Palmer, who has continued his outstanding form for Chelsea in this campaign where he has probably been the Premier League’s most impressive performer, underused at the Euros? “I can’t really talk about from a seniors point of view what’s really gone on with Cole, but I’ve seen the impact he has had when he’s been given the opportunity,” Carsley said. “He had a similar role for us in the [Under-21] Euros a couple of years ago where he built into the tournament and then obviously started in the final.” That is not quite true, as Palmer also started a group game and the semi-final on the road to England winning that tournament.

“I think Cole’s in a brilliant position at the minute in terms of he has really found his feet at Chelsea, he’s highly rated, he’s getting minutes, he’s showing that he can handle the intensity of playing game after game,” Carsley said. “So that’s been a real plus for him, and we’re getting the benefit of that because when you talk about players who are in form, the fact that he’s getting so much exposure and his numbers in terms of goals and assists is brilliant for us.”

Greece's Rise to the Top

England travel to play Finland in Helsinki just three days after the Greece clash and Carsley is expected to rotate his team heavily between the two matches. Kane has been nursing an ankle injury despite meeting up with the England squad this week, while Jack Grealish missed training on Wednesday after picking up a minor knock.

Greece, meanwhile, missed out on the European Championship in heartbreaking fashion, losing on penalties to Georgia in the playoff final under Gus Poyet. Since then, their interim coach Nikos Papadopoulos oversaw a 2-1 friendly defeat to Germany followed by a 3-0 win over Malta, before Jovanović began his stewardship with a 2-0 win away at Ireland and a 3-0 home victory against Finland.

Panathinaikos striker Ioannidis has been in fine form for the national team, notching three goals in the two Nations League game so far.