Carsley appointed as interim England manager

LONDON: Lee Carsley will step up from his role as England under-21 manager to take temporary charge of the Three Lions, the English Football Association (FA) announced on Friday. Gareth Southgate stepped down as England boss after eight years in charge in the aftermath of losing the Euro 2024 final to Spain last month.

Carsley could now follow Southgate´s path by graduating from the under-21 setup into the senior role. The 50-year-old will oversee Nations League fixtures against the Republic of Ireland and Finland in September and could remain in the role for longer depending on how quickly the FA finalise their search for Southgate´s successor.

“Carsley will step up from his role in charge of the MU21s (men´s under-21s) initially for September´s fixtures away to Republic of Ireland and at home to Finland,” the FA said in a statement.

“But with a view to remaining in the position throughout autumn while the FA´s recruitment process for a new permanent head coach continues.” Carsley won 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland as a player and made over 300 Premier League appearances with Blackburn, Coventry, Everton and Birmingham.

In 2023 he led England to a first win at the under-21 Euros since 1984 and is familiar with a number of the current senior squad due to various coaching roles across the FA´s development teams.

However, he lacks senior managerial experience apart from short caretaker spells at Brentford and Birmingham. “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.”

England will also face Greece in the second tier of the Nations League after being relegated from the last version of the competition in 2022. FA CEO Mark Bullingham said: “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.”

Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe are among the other names linked with the job. Jurgen Klopp has dismissed any notion he could return to England so swiftly after leaving Liverpool, while Pep Guardiola on Friday refused to entertain speculation he could take over when his contract at Manchester City expires at the end of the season.

Blessed with a richly-talented generation of players, Southgate transformed England´s fortunes at major tournaments. During his tenure, England reached two Euros finals, plus a World Cup semi-final and quarter-final. However, he departed without ending his nation´s wait since the 1966 World Cup to win a major tournament.

That is the task for whoever succeeds Southgate on a permanent basis with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka still in their prime years for the 2026 World Cup and a Euros on home soil in 2028.