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• Carsley proud of England style shift ahead of Tuchel taking charge

  Lee Carsley is proud of the way England's players adapted to a more progressive style during his spell as interim coach, ahead of Thomas Tuchel taking the reins.

  England trounced the Republic of Ireland 5-0 on Sunday in their final game before Tuchel takes charge in January, recording their fifth win in six matches under Carsley.

  Carsley has been credited with instilling a high-pressing, possession-based style during a successful stint as England Under-21 boss, having overseen the team's European Championship triumph last year.

  In their six Nations League matches under Carsley, England's senior side averaged a 69.3% possession share and 624.8 successful passes per match, as well as 16 shots and 1.95 expected goals (xG).

  At Euro 2024, their final tournament under Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions averaged 55.4% possession, 536 passes, 10.8 shots and 0.88 xG per match as they finished as runners-up to Spain.

  Speaking after his final game at the helm, Carsley hailed England's players for adapting to a new approach seamlessly. 

  "I definitely felt like I have been out of my comfort zone but not beyond my capabilities," Carsley said. "I never felt at any point I was drowning or I was struggling.

  "I've taken the confidence that myself and the rest of the staff will be okay. I think we have got stronger as the windows have gone on.

  "You are always learning a lot about yourself when you're in a position you are not used to. I think the most pleasing thing is the younger players coming through.

  "We have tried change things. We have tried to adapt and move on the style, the way that we play, the control, the amount of possession we have, the amount of chances we create.

   

  "There has been no resistance to that. If anything, they have taken that on. I think it helps that they have seen the 21s and the way that the 21s have tried to control and score goals."

  England's victory was their biggest by a manager in their final match in charge since November 1993, when San Marino were beaten 7-1 in Graham Taylor's last game.

  Despite achieving his goal of winning automatic promotion back to League A of the Nations League, Carsley admitted to having some regrets over his only defeat at the helm – a 2-1 loss to Greece at Wembley last month.

  "Even though we won five of the six, I straight away go back to that game we should have won at Wembley," Carsley added.

  "It's definitely a lonely place in that dugout when you're not winning at Wembley. We’ll keep improving and keeping pushing the players and ourselves."

   

• Italy 'on the right track' despite France defeat – Spalletti

  Luciano Spalletti believes Italy are "on the right track" despite the Azzurri ending their Nations League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to France on Sunday.

  Adrien Rabiot scored twice and Guglielmo Vicario put through his own net as Les Bleus triumphed at San Siro, with all three goals coming from Lucas Digne set-pieces.

  Italy had already confirmed a top-two finish by beating Belgium 1-0 three days earlier, however, so they will join France in the quarter-finals next March.

  Despite the result, there were plenty of positives for Spalletti to take from Italy's performance, as his team enjoyed more possession (53.8%), shots (10 to six), expected goals (0.59 xG to 0.39) and touches in the opposition box (20 to eight) than their opponents.

  "I believe that we are on the right track, I saw many things we sought in the correct way, but we were influenced by the emotion of the match, we forced the match," he said.

  "In the second half the game was managed well, we often had the ball but we have to be cleaner with our ball management.

  "The analysis is certainly positive, it is clear that there is something to review. When we return, the group will do this."

   

  Italy were undone by some excellent dead-ball taking from Aston Villa full-back Digne, though, and Spalletti knows they must be more competitive on a physical level in the future.

  "The boys wanted to go and challenge the opponent, there you spend energy. The third set-piece created problems for us, then we tried to react to score again, but they are physical," he said. 

  "Now we will review the situations well, they are one of the strongest teams there is from a physical point of view."

• Italy 1-3 France: Rabiot, Digne combine to clinch top spot

  France secured top spot in Nations League Group A2 as they beat Italy 3-1 thanks in large part to the efforts of Adrien Rabiot and Lucas Digne.

  Rabiot headed home twice at San Siro on Sunday, each time from excellent Digne dead-ball deliveries.

  Digne also played a pivotal role in France's second goal, with his exceptional free-kick clattering the crossbar and bouncing in off the unfortunate Guglielmo Vicario.

  And though Italy hit back through Andrea Cambiaso just two minutes after Vicario's own goal to make it 2-1, they could not find a second wind after Rabiot had restored Les Bleus' two-goal cushion midway through the second half.

  Mike Maignan, playing in his home stadium, made a fantastic save from Moise Kean deep into stoppage time to preserve France's advantage and ensure Didier Deschamps' side, who were frustrated by Israel last time out, kept hold of top spot.

  The result means France, who did not feel Kylian Mbappe's absence this time out as they had done against Israel, will be seeded in the quarter-finals draw, with those matches to be played in March.

  Data Debrief: Delight for Digne and Rabiot

  Both playing for France for the 50th time, Digne and Rabiot were the stars of the show as Les Bleus gained revenge for their 3-1 defeat to Italy on home soil back in September.

  Rabiot's first goal – a fine header from a brilliant Digne corner – came after just one minute and 59 seconds, marking the earliest goal Italy have conceded in a home match since Opta began recording such data in 2008. It was also France's fastest goal in an away match since a Patrick Battiston effort in a 4-0 win over Luxembourg in October 1984.

  France scored three goals from set-pieces in a match for the first time since 1991, when they netted three times from dead-ball situations against Albania.

  Les Bleus have now won each of their last three away matches against Italy, more than in their first 14.

  Italy may feel hard done by given they had more shots (10 to six) and accumulated a higher expected goals figure (0.7 xG to 0.4), but France's deadly double act of Digne and Rabiot were worthy matchwinners.