Republic of Ireland vs England LIVE: Nations League result and final score as Lee Carsley makes winning start

For some around the Irish squad, it’s still strange to be preparing for a match against Lee Carsley’s England. Ireland made a strong push for the admired coach, since he has 40 caps for the country. A solid Ireland midfielder is now the most important figure in English football culture, and will have a tricolour by his name if he takes England to the World Cup.

Carsley was born in Birmingham but qualified for Ireland through his Cork grandmother, and spoke last week of naturally feeling both nationalities. The same applies to many for Saturday’s game in Dublin, most notably Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who make up at least nine England regulars over the last half-decade that could have also represented Ireland. It is almost an inevitable inversion of the fixture’s history, when it was Ireland that most benefited from the country’s diaspora to Britain.

That history has been driven by one of the most complicated relationships in international football – at least on the Irish side. Among those complications are “800 years” of British occupation; a century of post-colonialism; decades of the English top flight serving as one of Ireland’s primary cultural influences as well as hundreds of players.

In Lee Carsley’s first act as interim England manager, which was an introductory press conference, he said “I understand how an international window works”. He certainly does now.

If there is one reason there should be caution about Carsley getting the job other than results and performances, it certainly isn’t the singing of the national anthem. That should be irrelevant, except it does at least echo this bigger factor.

It is the need to realise that, whether a coach likes it or not, the England manager job is about so much more than football. It is a vessel for all of the country’s political influences to pour their own interests into, given it is still the most visible position in the national game. The role is supposed to stand for something greater, a representation of England, even if the people concerned with this are never going to actually agree what that England is supposed to be.

Plenty has been made of this in the media in the build-up to the match.

England manager and former Ireland player Lee Carsley says he won’t sing either anthem for Saturday’s match in Dublin, because that’s always been his stance throughout his career – while stating he hasn’t spoken individually to Declan Rice or Jack Grealish about potentially getting booed.

The interim English boss says he has spoken more generally to the squad about a potentially fervent atmosphere, as England play a competitive game in Ireland for the first time since 1990. Anglo-Irish relations have weighed over the build-up to the game, especially with so many of Carsley’s squad – including the manager himself – having an Irish background.

Lee Carsley has no concerns about playing Declan Rice or Jack Grealishin Dublin as the former Republic of Ireland international prepares to lead England out as interim manager for the first time.

Saturday’s Nations League opener at the Aviva Stadium marks the start of a new era just 55 days after England lost a second successive European Championship final.

Gareth Southgate called time on his eight-year reign after the narrow loss to Spain, with England Under-21s boss Carsley promoted to caretaker senior boss as the Football Association considers its next steps.

It wouldn’t have taken too many different turns for Lee Carsley to be on the opposite bench in Dublin this Saturday, for what is now his first match as interim England manager.

The Irish federation maybe just needed to go a bit stronger. The Football Association of Ireland had made Carsley its top target for the manager role, on account of his fine coaching reputation, as well as his background of having 40 caps for Ireland.

The 50-year-old has a grandfather from Cork, which gave him a similar decision to make to the time when Jack Charlton’s coaching staff approached him about joining the Irish Under-21s back in 1995. Carsley decided to go for it then. This time, though, he wasn’t so sure.

So how has Lee Carsley ended up as England’s interim manager?

The Birmingham-born coach had a 17-year playing career, and most notably featured in the Premier League for Everton and Derby County, having started his career at the latter.

The defensive midfielder made his debut in 1994 for the Rams in what was then called the First Division (now known as the Championship). He became a regular starter at Pride Park, helping his side to promotion to the Premier League in 1995/96.

The most successful spell of his career came between 2002 and 2008 while playing for Everton, with the Toffees finishing as high as fourth and sixth during his time at Goodison.

At international level, Carsley represented the Republic of Ireland, making 40 appearances between 1997 and 2008.

The 50-year-old retired in 2011, with his last club being Coventry City. Having worked on his coaching badges while at Everton, Carsley was made manager of Coventry U18s later in 2011.

His first involvement with England came as a coach for the U19s in 2015, and he went on to become head coach of the U20s in 2020 after holding various youth-level development roles within the FA.

In July 2021, Carsley was appointed as the U21s head coach, winning the European Championship in 2023 after beating Spain 1-0 in the final with a team that included Cole Palmer, Angel Gomes, Anthony Gordon, Morgan Gibbs-White and Levi Colwill.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on ITV 1, with coverage starting at 4pm. Subscribers will also be able to watch via ITV X online and on the app.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

Republic of Ireland vs England kicks off at 5pm BST on Saturday 7 September at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

A new-look England squad start the post-Gareth Southgate era with a trip to Dublin to face the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League on Saturday.

Lee Carsley’s youthful squad look to immediately recover from an agonising 2-1 loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, with the former U21 manger calling upon a few of his best-known players for the first time.

Angel Gomes, Tino Livramento, Noni Madueke and Morgan Gibbs-White were all instrumental in England U21 European Championship win under Carsley, and all four will get the chance to earn their first England caps in Dublin as the former Ireland international looks to blend youth with England’s vast experience.

And the Three Lions face a Republic of Ireland side who are beginning a new era of their own, with Heimir Halgrimsson having taken over in July – he’ll be looking for a famous win to mark his tenure with the perfect start.

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Nations League action as Lee Carsley takes charge of his first match as England’s interim boss.

It’s something of a homecoming for the new manager who leads the Three Lions against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, the nation Carsley appeared for during his playing career.

This match is also the first game England are playing since the exit of Gareth Southgate and Carsley has selected four uncapped players in the squad.

We’ll have all the latest team news, updates and more throughout the day so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 5pm.