Life after Gareth Southgate begins in earnest for the England national team has begun, with interim boss Lee Carsley leading the Three Lions to a 2-0 win against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Southgate called time on his eight-year spell in the job shortly after England lost the Euro 2024 final to Spain this summer, with the former Everton midfielder and current England U21s boss Carsley being handed the job on a temporary basis.
Carsley - who won 40 caps for Ireland as a player thanks to an Irish grandmother - will be well aware that he is following a trail blazed by Southgate, who himself was promoted from the U21s to the boss of the senior team back in 2016.
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After facing Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, the Three Lions take on Finland at Wembley on Tuesday and former England captain Alan Shearer believes that Carsley has a unique opportunity to stake a claim for the job on a permanent basis.
“Bearing in mind that Lee Carsley played for the Republic of Ireland, for him to go there, back to Dublin and to start his first game as England manager is an incredible story for him, and he deserves it,” Shearer told Betfair.
“It’s very similar to what happened with Gareth Southgate; he was the Under-21 England manager, had success there and he was given an opportunity. It’s now exactly the same for Lee.
“It's be a very, very proud moment for him [his first England game].”
This month’s doubleheader marks the start of England’s Nations League campaign, with matches against Greece and Finland coming up in October.
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