England winners and losers: Trent Alexander-Arnold influential but Jordan Pickford endures nightmare | OneFootball

Angel Gomes could end up being the legacy of Lee Carsley’s interim reign, but Phil Foden can’t shake his international struggles

This will go down as a disappointing month overall for England. They will not have expected to drop any points at all this autumn in the second tier of the Nations League, let alone suffer a shock defeat as they did against Greece at Wembley.

Here, Standard Sport assesses England’s biggest winners and losers from this international break.

England winners

Jack Grealish

It feels as though Grealish has moved up England’s attacking pecking order under Carsley, thanks to goalscoring displays against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.

His composed finish in Helsinki showed the confidence with which he is playing right now, and he has shown real character to recover from the blow of being left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024.

Team-mates admitted to missing Grealish around the camp at the Euros, but he has quickly become a key squad member once more.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Carsley and Alexander-Arnold see eye-to-eye on the role of a full-back, with both men of the belief that in the modern day they can be trusted on both flanks and should be given license to venture into midfield.

His stunning free-kick against Finland made sure of all three points and was a reminder — if one was needed — of his unique ball-striking ability. He now has three man-of-the-match awards in Carsley’s four matches at the helm.

Angel Gomes

Lille midfielder provided the assist for Grealish’s goal and dictated tempo against Finland. Unlike the Greece match, England exerted more control over the game, particularly in the first half, and that was in no small part down to the influence of Gomes, who sat in front of the back four alongside Declan Rice.

He has done his chances of becoming a regular feature in the England squad no harm. Carsley might not be in charge for much longer, but Gomes could be his legacy.

Mixed fortunes: Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jack Grealish impressed for England amid Jordan Pickford’s struggles

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England losers

Jordan Pickford

Pickford spent spent seven years unchallenged as England’s No1, but the Everton shot-stopper delivered a nightmarish display against Greece.

He picked the ball out of his net five times (three of them disallowed for offside), and was responsible for the visitors’ first chance of the game when he was tackled outside his box and needed Levi Colwill’s goal-line clearance to save him from conceding.

The 30-year-old’s distribution is usually faultless but that, too, was out of sorts against Greece, with Carsley ultimately dropping him for the Finland match and Dean Henderson earning his first England start in his place. Pickford will have to wait until November to put it right.

Phil Foden

Foden was in scintillating form last season, named FWA Footballer of the Year after registering an incredible 39 goal contributions for Manchester City. But he has always found it difficult to translate his club form to the international stage.

That was clear at the European Championship this summer and appears to have cost him in terms of game time under Carsley.

After 70 minutes against Greece, Foden did not start against Finland, only coming off the bench. Carsley said he wished Grealish had been fit to start against Greece, and presumably it would have been Foden who missed out if he had been.

Four goals in 43 caps shows Foden's issues at international level, where Southgate and now Carsley have struggled to get the best out of him.