Lee Carsley appointed England interim head coach ahead of Ireland trip

Lee Carsley has been appointed interim head coach of England senior men ahead of the start of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign, which begins against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in September.

Lee Carsley has been appointed interim head coach of England ahead of the start of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign, which begins against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in September.

Carsley will step up from his role in charge of the three lions' MU21s, initially for September’s fixtures away to Ireland and at home to Finland, but with a view to remaining in the position throughout autumn while the FA’s recruitment process for a new permanent head coach continues.

“It’s an honour to step up and lead this England squad on an interim basis," said Carsley.

"As I am very familiar with the players and the cycle of international football, it makes sense for me to guide the team while the FA continues the process to recruit a new manager.

"My main priority is to ensure continuity and our goal is to secure promotion in the UEFA Nations League.”

Mark Bullingham, FA CEO, added: “Lee is a fantastic coach who is well known to the majority of our current senior squad having worked with most at international or club level.

"He offers us a very strong interim solution and we are confident he will perform well in the UEFA Nations League games ahead. We are grateful to Lee for stepping up to manage the team while we continue with our recruitment process.”

The 50-year-old former Ireland midfielder has been MU21 head coach since July 2021 and last year led the Young Lions to a first UEFA U21 European Championship since 1984.

Prior to that, Carsley held various coaching roles across England’s development teams and was briefly in charge of the MU20s.

Carsley was involved at the last three major tournaments by supporting the wider technical team at UEFA EURO 2020, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany, while he also has extensive experience at club level having worked closely with the first teams at Coventry City, Sheffield United, Brentford, Manchester City and Birmingham City.

As a player, the Birmingham-born midfielder made 340 top flight appearances and won 40 caps for Republic of Ireland including playing at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.