Lee Carsley reveals Harry Kane reaction to shock England omission | OneFootball

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.

Three Lions captain Kane did come on with 25 minutes to go as England eventually put the game beyond Greece - an unfortunate own goal from goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and a first international strike for an impressive Curtis Jones banishing the memories of the surprise 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture at Wembley.

Kane had spoken in the build-up to the game of his disappointment at the number of players who had withdrawn from the camp, insisting he sees playing for England as a more of a priority than club football.

So it was perhaps no surprise that Carsley revealed Kane's professional attitude to being left out of the team in Athens when he spoke to reporters after the game.

"He was absolutely fine. It would be fair to say he wants to play every game, like all top players do," the interim boss said. "I think he understands that it's important that other players experience that kind of experience that we had tonight.

"He's a great example to the rest of the players and I expect him to start on Sunday and play well."

Ollie Watkins celebrates his goal against Greece / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

"It was brilliant for Ollie to get a goal," Carsley added of Kane's replacement, Watkins. "It's 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 these players need to have as many experiences as they can.

"So, it was no slight on Harry. He'll start the next game and I think there are a lot of positives to take from that performance."

Carsley, who will step aside to allow Thomas Tuchel to take control on January 1, was then asked whether he felt any satisfaction from his team selection paying off, particularly his decision to start both Watkins and Jones - the latter he hailed as an "outstanding player".

"No, none at all, to be fair," the former Republic of Ireland international said. "None at all.

"I see the quality that the players have got. You're now seeing it in terms of the younger ones, that they're more than capable with the mentality and quality they've got to play in stages like tonight.

"I thought a lot of the players, especially the younger ones - well, all of the players, to be fair - played with such quality tonight."