Why Lee Carsley WON'T sing God Save the King ahead of first England match in charge against Ireland

Interim England boss Lee Carsley WON'T sing God Save the King ahead of his first match in charge.

Gareth Southgate's temporary replacement will be in the Three Lions for the first time against Ireland - the nation he represented 40 times as a player - for their Nations League clash at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. Carsley, who has made the step up from managing the England U21s after Southgate stepped down following defeat in the Euro 2024 Final, admits he has never sung the anthem either as an Irish player on England youth team boss.

And he doesn't plan on doing so tonight. It's bound to receive a hostile reception in the Irish capital given the long history between the two nations, but Carsley explained he'll have something else on his mind entirely. “This is something I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland," he said. "The gap between your warm-up, your coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems...it’s something that I have never done.

"I was always really focused on the game and my first actions. I 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. We had the national anthem with the Under-21s also and I am in a zone at that point.

“I am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game. I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of.”

His stance has even had one English newspaper columnist calling for Carsley to be SACKED if he doesn't belt out the lyrics ahead of kick-off. However, the consensus amongst the rest of the English media is that it's no big deal either way.

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