England vs Ireland LIVE: Nations League team news and updates as Lee Carsley era begins

Lee Carsley has no concerns about playing Declan Rice or Jack Grealishin Dublin as the former Republic of Ireland international prepares to lead England out as interim manager for the first time.

Saturday’s Nations League opener at the Aviva Stadium marks the start of a new era just 55 days after England lost a second successive European Championship final.

Gareth Southgate called time on his eight-year reign after the narrow loss to Spain, with England Under-21s boss Carsley promoted to caretaker senior boss as the Football Association considers its next steps.

The Irish federation maybe just needed to go a bit stronger. The Football Association of Ireland had made Carsley its top target for the manager role, on account of his fine coaching reputation, as well as his background of having 40 caps for Ireland.

The 50-year-old has a grandfather from Cork, which gave him a similar decision to make to the time when Jack Charlton’s coaching staff approached him about joining the Irish Under-21s back in 1995. Carsley decided to go for it then. This time, though, he wasn’t so sure.

So how has Lee Carsley ended up as England’s interim manager?

The Birmingham-born coach had a 17-year playing career, and most notably featured in the Premier League for Everton and Derby County, having started his career at the latter.

The defensive midfielder made his debut in 1994 for the Rams in what was then called the First Division (now known as the Championship). He became a regular starter at Pride Park, helping his side to promotion to the Premier League in 1995/96.

The most successful spell of his career came between 2002 and 2008 while playing for Everton, with the Toffees finishing as high as fourth and sixth during his time at Goodison.

At international level, Carsley represented the Republic of Ireland, making 40 appearances between 1997 and 2008.

The 50-year-old retired in 2011, with his last club being Coventry City. Having worked on his coaching badges while at Everton, Carsley was made manager of Coventry U18s later in 2011.

His first involvement with England came as a coach for the U19s in 2015, and he went on to become head coach of the U20s in 2020 after holding various youth-level development roles within the FA.

In July 2021, Carsley was appointed as the U21s head coach, winning the European Championship in 2023 after beating Spain 1-0 in the final with a team that included Cole Palmer, Angel Gomes, Anthony Gordon, Morgan Gibbs-White and Levi Colwill.

Harry Kane says he wants to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and play into his late thirties, despite admitting there are “good questions” about the football calendar and the toll on players.

The 31-year-old admitted his performances at Euro 2024 were “below par”, as he discussed the need to adapt to a season that will end with his Bayern Munich team appearing in the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup.

Kane looked physically weighed down in some games this summer, in a tournament where one of the primary themes was how England couldn’t press in the same way. He evidently sees that as a temporary issue rather than something reflective of the modern game’s demands, as he intends to emulate Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal aged 39 on Thursday (5 September).

The Chelsea winger has made a bright start to life under new boss Enzo Maresca and has four goals in four games throughout all competitions,  including a hat-trick in a 6-2 Premier League win over Wolves last month.

On the back of those performances, Madueke received his first call-up to the camp at St George’s Park and could made his debut when they travel to the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League on Saturday.

Madueke and Carsley are no strangers to each other and have already shared success together, winning the European Under-21 Championship last summer.

The 22-year-old hailed the new England boss for his characteristics on and off the field.

Especially as he is sufficiently young that Nani is still playing. The 37-year-old’s godson is Angel Gomes; a winger known for his flicks and tricks has had a peripatetic career since leaving Old Trafford but often checks in on Gomes. “He has been a big influence,” said the Lillemidfielder. “He was someone I used to watch and gave me joy.”

If they have a common denominator on their CVs in Manchester United, there is another team each could have represented. Gomes has played for England at Under 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 level, winning the Under-17 World Cup and the Under-21 European Championship. A trilingual midfielder is qualified to play for Angola, the country of his father’s birth. But Gil Gomes’ international football came for Portugal, in the same Under-21 team as Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Joao Pinto; they won what was then called World Youth Championship.

New call-up Morgan Gibbs-White was buzzing to find out Lee Carsley had been named interim England manager and feels like the role “suits him perfectly”.

Just 14 months after leading an England Under-21s side featuring the Nottingham Forest star to European Championship glory, the 50-year-old is in charge of the senior side for the first time.

“I’ve worked with Cars before, I know how he works,” Gibbs-White said.

“He’s a great manager tactically, man-management is great and I was buzzing when I found out that he got the job because I felt like he really deserved it, and I feel like it suits him perfectly.

“So hopefully the games go well for him, and you never know what the future holds.”

Rico Lewis is expecting interim boss Lee Carsley to bring dominant, dynamic and exciting football to England.

It is just under two months since Gareth Southgate called time on his eight-year reign having suffered another narrow defeat in the final of a European Championship.

The Football Association’s search for a permanent successor continues, with England Under-21s boss Carsley parachuted in for the autumn’s Nations League fixtures that start against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.

Asked what can be expected from Carsley, Lewis said: “To dominate pretty much every game we play.

“That is the intention, to dominate and control the whole game and with that comes a lot of exciting work. Also, controlling the game when we have not got the ball, as well.

Plenty has been written about Lee Carsley this week, so we’ll start with in chronological order, with the squad announcement!

Carsley has picked four uncapped players in his first England squad – Noni Madueke, Angel Gomes, Morgan Gibbs-White and Tino Livramento. The first three were all integral parts of the former U21 manager’s victory at the U21 European Championship in 2023 – the first time England had won that trophy in 39 years.

All four players could be in line to make their debuts tonight, with Madueke potentially coming onto the wing in the absence of Phil Foden and Angel Gomes an interesting option to partner Declan Rice as a deeper midfielder.

Tino Livramento could well start due to the absence of a traditional left-back in the squad, while Morgan Gibbs-White is a good option in the attacking midfield role in the absence of Palmer and Foden.

Unsurprisingly, Spain enter this year’s proceedings as heavy favourites to defend their crown. They’ve reached two out of three finals so far and beat Croatia on penalties to secure their first Nations League trophy last year.

It’s fair to say Luis de la Fuente’s side have improved massively since then. Spain were scintillating en route to winning Euro 2024, with the emergence of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams forcing teams to clam up in fear of being ripped apart on the wings.

France may well be the team that can push Spain the furthest. We never truly saw the best of Les Bleus at Euro 2024, with Kylian Mbappe’s broken nose hidden behind a mask amounting to lasting image of their tournament. France showed some excellent defensive qualities in Germany as William Saliba and Jules Kounde stepped up, even if they remained blunt in attack.

Julian Nagelsmann may well feel like the Germans missed out on a wonderful opportunity during their own tournament. He now oversees a new era without Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gundogan, Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer, four stalwarts of the nation’s success across many years.

This year’s Nations League feels like it will come too soon to push for the title, with Germany more likely to sit with Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands as League A challengers who sit slightly on the outside.