Lee Carsley has won his first match as England’s interim manager.
His side beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in their Nations League opener at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
England’s Declan Rice, who previously won three senior caps for the hosts, and Jack Grealish, who represented Ireland up until under-21 level, got the goals.
It comes after a row erupted over Carsley saying he would not be singing the national anthem before Saturday’s clash.
The interim boss of the men’s national side chose to stand in respectful silence as his football players sang God Save The King.
Carsley was born in Birmingham but represented Ireland during his playing career through his grandmother, who is from County Cork.
The 50-year-old former Ireland midfielder had indicated in advance that he would not join in with the anthem – as has been his practice throughout his career.
In Dublin, all the England players appeared to sing along amid raucous boos from the home fans, while many of the almost 3,000 travelling supporters chanted throughout the Irish anthem.
Carsley took charge of his first game in the wake of Gareth Southgate’s departure, having been promoted from his role as the England under-21s manager.
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Speaking during the build-up to the game, he explained his reasons for not singing.
He said: “This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland – the gap between your warm-up, your coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something that I have never done.
“I was always really focused on the game and my first actions of the game. I really found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off. I was really focused on the football and I have taken that into coaching.”
Carsley was in good company as Ireland’s Icelandic manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, also in the dugout for the first time following his appointment as Stephen Kenny’s successor in July, did not sing the Irish anthem.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said ahead of the match that, while he would sing the anthem, it should be a personal decision for Carsley and for any individual.
Source Agencies
