The Three Lions captain and record goalscorer is not accustomed to sitting on the bench – but his absence from the frontline against Greece helped England play with more pace

This time, Lee Carsley’s gamble paid off. In a surprise move, England’s interim coach left captain Harry Kane on the bench for the Nations League match against Greece on Thursday and the youthful team eased to a 3-0 win in Athens.

England interim manager Lee Carsley says Harry Kane had no problem with being left out of the starting lineup for the convincing 3-0 win over Greece in the Nations League. Kane was surprisingly benched in favour of Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins, who seized his opportunity with the opening goal of the night.

Its important that I think if we are going to put these players in a position where we are going to go and win the World Cup then they need to have as many experiences as they can. So, it was no slight on Harry.

England interim boss Lee Carsley has backed Harry Kane to respond to being dropped against Greece by confirming he will start in Sunday's UEFA Nations League clash against Republic of Ireland at Wembley.

Lee Carsley has insisted that he “definitely didn’t drop” Harry Kane, and reiterated that England’s captain will return to the starting line-up against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday. Carsley made the brave decision to play Ollie Watkins ahead of Kane for Thursday night’s 3-0 win in Greece,