Lee Carsley praised his youngsters after seeing the gamble to drop Harry Kane pay off as England regained control of their Nations League destiny by beating Greece 3-0 in Athens on Thursday evening.

Carsley’s decision to omit his captain was justified by an early goal from Ollie Watkins and there would also be positive contributions from Jude Bellingham and Curtis Jones. Bellingham, who won praise for his leadership, forced an own goal from Odysseas Vlachodimos and Jones added a debut goal as England, who regained top spot in Group B2, moved closer to promotion to the top tier knowing that beating the Republic of Ireland in their final match on Sunday will be enough.

“The most pleasing thing was the amount of control,” Carsley said. “We created a lot and it’s great for Ollie to score a goal. If we want to put players in a position to win the World Cup, it is important that these players have as much experience as possible. It’s not disrespect for Harry. He will start the next game. I see the quality of the players. The young people are more than capable with the quality and mentality they have. All the players played with such quality tonight. The age of these players has many positives. Curtis was excellent. Judas was really good.”

Carsley, who will be in the side for Thomas Tuchel in the new year, emphasized that Kane was happy to start on the bench. “It’s fair to say he wants to play every game, but he understands it’s important for other players to experience what they did tonight,” the interim manager said.

The victory means England, who lost 2-1 to Greece at Wembley last month, will hope to avoid a Nations League play-off in March. The goal for Tuchel is to focus on World Cup qualification. There had been talk before this match of withdrawing nine players, but Carsley’s side played with freedom and motivation.

“A lot was written about the guys who weren’t there, but the guys who were here and showed up were great,” Bellingham said.

“There would have been a million and one excuses if we hadn’t played well tonight or gotten over the line, but the boys went about their business so professionally.”

The Football Association is awaiting further details after reports before the match that police fired tear gas and hit traveling fans with batons outside the Olympic Stadium. Fans on the away end told the Guardian that the atmosphere darkened closer to kick-off. A green laser pointer was also pointed at around six England players during the match.