Stones relishing 'special' England moment after being handed Three Lions armband

Lee Carsley revealed that John Stones will lead out England in their Nations League clash against Greece on Thursday, with Harry Kane set to start the encounter on the bench.

Stones, who has made 81 caps for the Three Lions since his debut in 2014, will captain his nation for the first time at the start of a match.

During Gareth Southgate's tenure, only Kane (81) and Kyle Walker (70) made more appearances than Stones (68 - level with Jordan Pickford).

The Manchester City defender has become a mainstay in the England side in recent years, helping his nation to their two major tournament final appearances in consecutive European Championships.

"It's everything I could have dreamed of as a kid. More for my family, to be able to see me walk out as England captain is a special moment," Stones said.

"One I can't thank Lee enough for. An incredible moment for me.

"To be walking out with the armband on is an absolute honour and a moment I'll cherish forever."

Lee Carsley has confirmed that John Stones will captain the #ThreeLions for the very first time tomorrow pic.twitter.com/qWxmzAHI9w

— England (@England) October 9, 2024

"It was a great conversation I was able to have with John to ask him to captain the team," Carsley added.

"It's a brilliant achievement, something he deserves with the amount of caps he's got, the level of professionalism he's shown, the example he is to young players."

Carsley later confirmed Kane could still play a part against Greece and would be in the running to face Finland on Sunday.

Kane, who marked his 100th England appearance with two goals in the Three Lions' 2-0 win over Finland last month, suffered an ankle injury in Bayern Munich's draw with Bayer Leverkusen in his final match before the international break.

The 31-year-old has since trained away from the main group of players.

"Harry is nursing an injury, a small knock, something we won't take a chance with," said Carsley.

The interim Three Lions boss was also asked about the role of Cole Palmer, with the Chelsea forward enjoying a fine start to the Premier League campaign.

Palmer has scored six goals in seven games in the league this term, four of which came in a stunning display against Brighton, becoming the first player in Premier League history to net four times before half-time in a single match.

The 22-year-old leads the Premier League for the most goal involvements this campaign (11), with only Bukayo Saka (27) creating more chances in the top flight this season than Palmer (23 - level with Andreas Pereira and Dwight McNeil).

Palmer was also recently named England's Men's Player of the Year for 2023-24, and Carsley expects him to carry on his impressive form in England's next two fixtures.

"Cole is in fantastic form. He's carried that into this week," said Carsley. "Such an exciting player, a player I've worked with for four, five years now.

"Cole, along with a lot of other attacking players who have put themselves into a great position to start the game."

In sync Jude Cole pic.twitter.com/XUlmp3uGjX

— England (@England) October 9, 2024