Lee Carsley tactics and style of play

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Not many coaches have beaten Spanish teams in international tournament finals this century, which puts Lee Carsley in select company indeed. Of the three finals in which England and Spain faced off in 2023 and 2024 – including the Women’s World Cup and men’s Euros – only Carsley’s Under-21 team brought the silverware back to England. Their 1-0 win in the 2023 men’s Under-21 European Championship was England’s first success in the competition since 1984. In victory, they denied Spain a fourth title in 12 years.

Born in Birmingham in 1974, Carsley played 40 times for the Republic of Ireland, qualifying through his grandmother. A midfielder, he played 548 club games in a 17-year career that took in six clubs, with his most notable spell coming at Everton under David Moyes. 

After various academy, first-team assistant and caretaker manager roles, he was appointed England Under-21 head coach in 2021. Two years later, his team became the first to go through a six-game Under-21 Euros without conceding a goal.

Below, our UEFA-licensed coaches have analysed the tactics Lee Carsley has used during his time in charge of the England Under-21s…

Flexible build-up

Carsley has tended to favour a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 formation as an in-possession starting base, allowing significant freedom within that structure. His aim is to dominate the ball, but it isn’t sterile possession. Rather, there is freedom of movement, rotation and eventual penetration of space, with his Under-21 sides playing forward with purpose.

A double pivot has often been key to this, sometimes operating ahead of an adapted back-line trio, with a fourth defender moving higher to play in the midfield line. This is usually one of the full-backs, allowing the winger ahead to narrow. Carsley’s team then has an extra central body to further assist controlled possession and progression of the ball (below).

This has been seen on both sides of the pitch, with central midfielders also rotating the other way on occasion – especially against strong, player-oriented marking. Carsley has frequently used players in different roles for England than the ones they play for their clubs. For example, he has used attacking players like Cole Palmer or Angel Gomes in much deeper, pivot roles to aid the build-up.

Carsley has also built with a double pivot ahead of a back line of four, avoiding players moving forward to overload the next line. He will, however, still deploy and allow for rotations between players, with the overall structure remaining. One particularly clever movement Carsley’s Under-21 side has demonstrated is when the widest attacker from the front line briefly swaps with the full-back (below). This allows the attacker to receive to feet, albeit much deeper. The key here is that they evade significant defensive pressure, as their advancing full-back teammate occupies the opposing full-back.

From here, the receiving attacker can drive forward from deep, unopposed. They can then combine with pace to penetrate lines through the support of the pivots, temporarily high full-back, or central attacking players – which Carsley has had in abundance. Such moments show the trust Carsley places in his players, as well as using them in a dynamic fashion. The likes of Emile Smith-Rowe and Jacob Ramsey, for example, have often been used in differing wide roles to that seen at their clubs.

Attacking the final third

Once into the final third, at least one of the wingers provides maximum width. With England’s Under-21s, Carsley initially used two wingers to provide the width; they would pin the opposing full-backs, with support offered by very advanced number eights. Inside-channel combinations were key for Carsley, with the front line of five supported by a pivot and two narrowed full-backs (below). This most commonly stemmed from an initial in-possession 4-3-3, with the full-backs also available to overlap or underlap from deep.

As Carsley’s rotations and flexibility progressed with the Under-21s, it became more common for just one winger to hold the width. On at least one side, an advancing full-back, a widening central forward or a drifting midfielder has moved into the wide spaces. These movements have helped to better disrupt opposing blocks, as teams quickly sit off England when they cleanly build and begin to dominate possession. With the licence Carsley gives his players, they have adapted and changed roles in possession, to support attacks in wide areas.

Anthony Gordon and Morgan Gibbs-White are further examples of players Carsley has used in roles that differ from their club positions. Both have, on occasion, led the front line as the team’s highest central attacker. Naturally, both have drifted and rotated from this starting position into wide areas.

Inside-channel runs have also been key for Carsley. The spaces around and inside the opposing full-backs have been consistently targeted during England’s attacking play, during sustained periods of possession. These have come from number eights running beyond, narrowed wingers driving through, or a widening central forward. Central attacking play has been most evident on the counter-attack, from a 4-4-2 set-up prior to regaining possession high up the pitch.

Out of possession

Without the ball, Carsley has adopted either a 4-1-4-1 shape, or a 4-4-2 block. The 4-1-4-1 was more prevalent towards the start of his tenure, as a defensive readjustment from the in-possession 4-3-3 formation. Here, his side pressed high, with one player fewer jumping on to the opposing back line. This relied on the single central forward cutting the passing lane between the centre-backs to lock the ball one way. From here, the wingers and full-backs marked their direct opponents, with the central midfielders doing the same. The centre-backs then had a 2v1, should the opposition use only one central striker.

Carsley has since used the out-of-possession 4-4-2 more. When pressing high up the pitch, England’s Under-21s then had four players committing on to the opposing back line. This meant more bodies higher and a more aggressive style of press, but also more teammates in more dangerous positions should England regain possession in the opposition half. The biggest benefit to this change of defending formation has been England’s counter-attacking threat, especially in central spaces.

When in a more reserved block, England still look to control the game, but with the front-line pair screening any central passes. They cover and protect access into the opposing pivot(s), while ideally positioned to counter-attack. Pacy attackers such as Gibbs-White and Gordon have played this role, ready to burst forward upon a central regain (above).

With this central screen in place, England’s two central midfielders can prioritise any opposing attacking midfielders positioned higher. They can also better protect the inside channels by providing earlier support into the space just ahead of their full-backs. The role of the wingers has also changed slightly in the 4-4-2; when the opposition attack down one side, they narrow more, almost becoming a third central midfielder. England will then leave their far-side full-back free, more often than in the 4-1-4-1 defensive shape.

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Author: The Coaches' Voice