Lee Carsley’s England philosophy has similarities to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, insists John Stones

John Stones believes that there are similarities between the style being implemented by England interim head coach Lee Carsley within the national team, and Pep Guardiola.

The 30-year-old defender took on his first game starting as senior England captain on Thursday night, as the Three Lions ultimately fell to a late winning goal by Greece to lose 1-2 at Wembley.

Jude Bellingham thought he had rescued a point in the closing exchanges of the game, only for the visitors to show their never-say-die attitude and capitalise on some sloppy defending inside the England penalty area.

Speaking during a pre-match press conference prior to England’s UEFA Nations League meeting with Greece, John Stones was asked whether he believed interim head coach Lee Carsley and his style could be compared to Pep Guardiola’s at Manchester City.

“In ways, yes, definitely. Everyone has got their own unique style, and I think there are similarities throughout every mana­ger in what they want,” Stones said.

He continued, “There are a lot of similarities between Lee (Carsley) and Pep (Guardiola) in how they see the game and how they want us to play, and I think we saw that last month when we played the two games.

“It’s been great for me with the likenesses of how we play.”

John Stones and his England teammates still have one more game to fulfil before turning their attentions back to club football for another few weeks, as they travel to Helsinki and the Olympic Stadium to take on Finland on Sunday evening.

It remains to be seen whether Kyle Walker will be granted any game time on his return to the England squad having remained as an unused substitute against Greece, whilst Jack Grealish was excluded from the matchday squad list due to a knock sustained in training.