England face the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday in the first match of their new Nations League campaign, and their first under interim manager Lee Carsley. The match marks the first game since the Three Lions’ 2-1 defeat to Spain in the final of Euro 2024, in what was Gareth Southgate’s last match in charge.

And Carsley has instantly begun to look to the future, including the uncapped quartet of Angel Gomes, Noni Madueke, Morgan Gibbs-White and Tino Livramento in his first senior squad.

All four were part of the victorious U21 European Championship squad, and will be hoping to take the first step in their international careers as they look to gel into a side featuring plenty of experience.

Meanwhile, Ireland are also embarking on the start of a new journey, with new manager Heimir Halgrimsson able to select one of the most talented Ireland squads in recent years, including the Premier League’s Evan Ferguson, Sammie Szmodics and Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher.

England's New Look Squad

England come into this game fresh off a disappointing end to Euro 2024, in which they were beaten 2-1 by Spain in the final. The Three Lions form over the last five games is W3, D1, L1, though one of those wins was in extra-time against Slovakia, and another one was on penalties against Switzerland. The Three Lions’ last win in normal time was against the Netherlands in the semi-final of Euro 2024, and their only other win in 90 minutes in that tournament was against Serbia in their opening match.

Plenty of the criticism that England faced during Euro 2024 – and in the immediate aftermath of the loss to Spain in the final – revolved around the lack of a concrete system, which lead to ineffectiveness in attack and a defence that was too easy to open up in the final.

Even in matches where England dominated possession, they created too few notable attacking opportunities and too often relied on brilliant moments from their big names, such as Jude Bellingham’s equaliser against Slovakia.

Perhaps Lee Carsley’s main job is to find a way to balance the side while incorporating all of the main talents, but with players such as Foden and Bellingham unavailable during this autumn international break, Carsley’s main role for now is simply to get England playing some entertaining football while also dominating control of the ball.

A New Era for Ireland

Ireland (W1, D2, L2) didn’t qualify for the summer tournament in Germany, though they beat Hungary 2-1 and lost 3-0 to Portugal in friendlies in June before the competition started. Their three games before that ended with draws to New Zealand and Belgium, and a 1-0 loss to Switzerland.

New Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson is hoping lightning strikes twice as he plots England’s downfall once again. The 57-year-old was Iceland co-manager with Lars Lagerback when they masterminded a famous 2-1 last-16 victory over England at Euro 2016, in the process sending Roy Hodgson’s men to one of the lowest points in the country’s recent history. A little more than eight years on, Hallgrimsson is looking to do much the same for Ireland in his first game since replacing Stephen Kenny at the helm when England head for the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

A History of Tense Encounters

England and Ireland have only met 17 times in the past, with the first match dating back to 1946. The Three Lions have won six of these matches, with Ireland winning two and nine ending as draws.

Perhaps the most notable meeting between the two came at the 1990 World Cup, when Bobby Robson’s side drew 1-1 to an Ireland team managed by English World Cup winner Jack Charlton in Group F. The last meeting between the two came in November 2020, when England won 3-0 in a friendly at Wembley courtesy of goals from Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

As well as that meeting at Italia ‘90, there have been plenty of other memorable matches between these two, some for all the wrong reasons. Two years before the 1990 World Cup, the teams met at the 1988 European Championship, with Ireland winning 1-0 thanks to a Ray Houghton header. Charlton later remarked: “Somebody once said that fortune favours the brave, and God, our lads were brave this afternoon”. A meeting at Lansdowne Road in 1995 is the most infamous fixture between the two, with the fixture abandoned after England fans caused riots having seen their side go 1-0 down in the opening 22 minutes.

A Shared Heritage

For some around the Irish squad, it’s still strange to be preparing for a match against Lee Carsley’s England. Ireland made a strong push for the admired coach, since he has 40 caps for the country. A solid Ireland midfielder is now the most important figure in English football culture, and will have a tricolour by his name if he takes England to the World Cup.

Carsley was born in Birmingham but qualified for Ireland through his Cork grandmother, and spoke last week of naturally feeling both nationalities. The same applies to many for Saturday’s game in Dublin, most notably Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who make up at least nine England regulars over the last half-decade that could have also represented Ireland. It is almost an inevitable inversion of the fixture’s history, when it was Ireland that most benefited from the country’s diaspora to Britain.

That history has been driven by one of the most complicated relationships in international football – at least on the Irish side. Among those complications are “800 years” of British occupation; a century of post-colonialism; decades of the English top flight serving as one of Ireland’s primary cultural influences as well as hundreds of players.

The Anthems and the Politics

Plenty has been made of this in the media in the build-up to the match.

England manager and former Ireland player Lee Carsley says he won’t sing either anthem for Saturday’s match in Dublin, because that’s always been his stance throughout his career – while stating he hasn’t spoken individually to Declan Rice or Jack Grealish about potentially getting booed.

The interim English boss says he has spoken more generally to the squad about a potentially fervent atmosphere, as England play a competitive game in Ireland for the first time since 1990. Anglo-Irish relations have weighed over the build-up to the game, especially with so many of Carsley’s squad – including the manager himself – having an Irish background.

In Lee Carsley’s first act as interim England manager, which was an introductory press conference, he said “I understand how an international window works”. He certainly does now. If there is one reason there should be caution about Carsley getting the job other than results and performances, it certainly isn’t the singing of the national anthem. That should be irrelevant, except it does at least echo this bigger factor. It is the need to realise that, whether a coach likes it or not, the England manager job is about so much more than football. It is a vessel for all of the country’s political influences to pour their own interests into, given it is still the most visible position in the national game. The role is supposed to stand for something greater, a representation of England, even if the people concerned with this are never going to actually agree what that England is supposed to be.

A Long Road to Dublin

It wouldn’t have taken too many different turns for Lee Carsley to be on the opposite bench in Dublin this Saturday, for what is now his first match as interim England manager. 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.

A New Chapter Begins

A new-look England squad start the post-Gareth Southgate era with a trip to Dublin to face the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League on Saturday. Lee Carsley’s youthful squad look to immediately recover from an agonising 2-1 loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, with the former U21 manger calling upon a few of his best-known players for the first time. Angel Gomes, Tino Livramento, Noni Madueke and Morgan Gibbs-White were all instrumental in England U21 European Championship win under Carsley, and all four will get the chance to earn their first England caps in Dublin as the former Ireland international looks to blend youth with England’s vast experience. And the Three Lions face a Republic of Ireland side who are beginning a new era of their own, with Heimir Halgrimsson having taken over in July – he’ll be looking for a famous win to mark his tenure with the perfect start.