England’s clash with Greece DOES matter as they look for World Cup qualifying advantage, so why isn’t Thomas Tuchel here? Asks IAN LADYMAN

No players, no Tuchel, no point. That would be an understandable way of characterising England’s trip to play Greece here in the Nations League on Thursday night.

Why is Thomas Tuchel — the new England manager — not in position yet? Why is he not even travelling to Athens to watch this game? And can we really be surprised we have witnessed an unprecedented number of withdrawals from the squad after the weekend’s action?

Why bother turning up when all the subliminal messages coming from the FA’s strange Gareth Southgate succession plan suggest the new manager can’t be bothered to do just that?

It is in this atmosphere, and with these questions hanging in the air, that interim boss Lee Carsley will arrive here on Wednesday. It is hard to remember an England gathering like it. Eight players invited by Carsley last week have declared themselves unavailable and that is almost a third of the squad.

The game does matter, as it happens. All international games matter to a degree and this one does to Carsley — who will want revenge for Greece’s humbling of his team at Wembley last month — and to Tuchel in terms of the way his opening fixtures in charge will look once he finally takes office on January 1.

Lee Carsley’s side travel to Athens looking to avenge their defeat by Greece earlier this year

If England recover from that awful night against Greece and finish top of their Nations League group, Tuchel’s first games, in March, will either be World Cup qualifiers or friendlies, depending on the size of England’s group when the qualifying draw is made for USA 2026 on December 13.

If England finish second in this Nations League stanza, their March dates will comprise a two-leg play-off offering a last-chance route back into Pool A of this particular competition.

So, yes, what happens here on Thursday and at Wembley when Carsley finishes his spell in charge with a game against the Republic of Ireland does indeed matter.

It’s just that it doesn’t remotely feel like it, and that’s on the FA and Tuchel.

The reasons for the German’s absence remain unclear. The FA were vague about it at Tuchel’s unveiling last month, saying only it suited Tuchel and enabled them to honour their six-game agreement with Carsley.

But frankly, who cares about that? Carsley is an FA employee and should pretty much do as he is asked. And he would, anyway. He’s that type of guy. If it suits England and the FA for him to step away two games earlier than planned, that is what should happen without question.

So why isn’t he? Suggestions in Germany continue to swirl that Tuchel cannot work until January under the terms agreed with Bayern Munich when he left the club last spring. But when asked in October if there were ‘any other reasons’ other than those given as to why Tuchel couldn’t start work immediately, the FA said there were not. So make of that what you will.

As for the reasons Tuchel will not be in Athens even to watch or indeed at Wembley on Sunday, heaven knows. Is he scared of upsetting Carsley? Unlikely. Is he scared of provoking Bayern’s lawyers? If so, he should buy a ticket and sit in the crowd.

England now travel to Athens after eight players made themselves unavailable for the games

England’s performance against Greece at Wembley was so jumbled it brings on a headache

England can finish top of their group still by beating both Greece and Republic of Ireland 

The upcoming games matter deeply to Carsley, who will want to finish his stint as interim boss on a high

None of it makes sense, and makes England’s insistence that winning the next World Cup is their overriding priority ring a little hollow.

So pity Carsley and the players who have to try to get things right here at the Olympic Stadium. England lost to Greece on the back of Carsley’s muddled tactics, his only real mis-step on the field since taking over from Southgate. That was the night of Jude Bellingham at false nine and a performance so jumbled it brings on a headache just thinking back to it.

But Greece also showed in winning that they are no mugs, despite their FIFA ranking of 42. They will be highly motivated, too. To win this group would inflate their self-esteem and promotion to Pool A would make them money. The Greeks also have the advantage of knowing that the chap in the dugout is actually their manager.

Stuff like that tends to help.