Jack Grealish and Jude Bellingham appear to aim veiled swipes at Gareth Southgate

Jude Bellingham and Jack Grealish appeared to aim thinly veiled swipes at former England manager Gareth Southgate after both thanked outgoing interim coach Lee Carsley for “bringing back the enjoyment” to the national team.

Carsley’s six-game run in charge ended with a thumping 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday, after which Bellingham and Grealish both issued public thanks on social media.

“What a guy and manager,” wrote Grealish, who was forced to pull out of the most recent England squad with an injury. “Absolute legend and thank you for bringing back the enjoyment in an England shirt.”

Real Madrid’s Bellingham, who started four of Carsley’s six games in charge, was also effusive in his praise of the 50-year-old.

“Huge thanks to Lee and his staff for their work in these last few camps,” Bellingham said. “Got my smile back in an England shirt, very grateful.”

Despite a disappointing 2-1 home loss to Greece in October, Carsley can be credited with helping the senior side shake off the residual hangover from their defeat in the final of Euro 2024 – Southgate’s final match in charge before he stepped down.

Against the Republic, four players scored their maiden international goals, with the result also ensuring England’s promotion back into the top echelon of the Nations League.

Carsley will now return to his previous post as head coach of England Under-21s, paving the way for Thomas Tuchel to take over as head coach of the senior team from January.

After his final game in charge, Carsley said: “I’m trying to put together, with the rest of the staff, a debrief on all three camps. I will put together a document, then hopefully meet him [Tuchel] and present what we think and what we’ve found.

“It’s a job that deserves an elite coach with a track record of winning, and Thomas has got that. The bonus would be we’ve increased the pool of players. The next squad will be a real challenge to pick, I’m sure. Exciting times ahead.”

Exclusive: FA in talks to honour anti-racism campaigner Lord Ouseley

The Football Association is in talks over dedicating a match to anti-racism campaigner Lord Ouseley during one of Thomas Tuchel’s first matches as England manager.

Ouseley, who founded the Kick It Out campaign, died last month at 79 and there were questions over why he was not honoured at Premier League games the following weekend.

“I would have thought there would have been some recognition of Herman Ouseley’s passing this weekend, considering everything he did to make football a more equal industry,” wrote anti-racism campaigner and broadcaster Troy Townsend at the time.

“But, no moment’s applause, no black armbands, nothing mentioned in commentary.”

It has emerged the FA has been in talks over how to honour Ouseley in what would have been his 80th birthday in March.

England are yet to find out their schedule for next year, with the World Cup qualifying draw on Dec 12 determining who they play in March, when Tuchel oversees his first matches in charge after being appointed Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor.

One of the options is for a Wembley match to be a tribute to Ouseley, who died after a short illness, having made a major impact in tackling discrimination during his life.

When he founded Kick It Out in 1993, it was initially called Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football, and he chaired the charity for 25 years. Considered a pioneer in anti-racism campaigning, he also sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher until his retirement in 2019, and also served as the chief executive for the Race Equality Commission.

“He was a trailblazer in English football, having the original vision for Kick It Out. He played a hugely inspirational role in tackling discrimination across our game,” said the FA when he passed away.