Lee Carsley passes first England test with flying colours to silence the noise over national anthem drama

HE walked straight out of the tunnel and sat on the wrong bench, then stood tight-lipped throughout God Save The King.

But when Lee Carsley’s England team strut around giving a passable impression of Brazil at the 1970 World Cup, then frankly who cares?

PAEngland hit the high notes against Ireland,even if Lee Carsley, unlike his assistant boss Ashley Cole, didn’t belt out the national anthem[/caption]

EPADeclan Rice and Jack Grealish bagged England’s goals in an impressive 2-0 win, both having previously played for home side Ireland at various levels[/caption]

Carsley saw England dominate in a 2-0 win away to IrelandPA

They say that managing England is the impossible job, that the politics, the media glare and the millions of armchair critics make it a thankless task.

Yet if England are winning and playing thrilling football – as they did in the first half of this Nations League clash – then the rest is all irrelevant white noise.

Carsley has navigated his first serious sewage storm, his first public embarrassment and his first match in charge.

And the interim boss has emerged with flying colours, leading England to their first win in Dublin since 1964. 

On the eve of his maiden outing, there had been hysterical calls for Carsley to be sacked before he had even taken charge of a match due to his refusal to sing the national anthem.

It was me who asked Birmingham-born Carsley that question – given his previous life as a midfielder who won 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland, now taking charge of his native country for the first time at senior level in Dublin, of all places.

But the idea that his refusal to sing a song should make him ineligible for the job of managing a football team is patent nonsense.

Like approximately half of people in an increasingly globalised society, Carsley – whose paternal grandparents were Irish – was eligible to play international sport for more than one nation.

EPAOutstanding Three Lions’ midfielder Rice declined to celebrate his goal, explaining it was out of respect for his late Irish grandparents[/caption]

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

And like most such people, he has genuine allegiance to both countries, complicating matters such as anthems.

Carsley had never previously sung either, as an Ireland player or as England’s Under-21 boss.

EPAGrealish’s display must have been music to the ears of Carsley[/caption]

His claim that it was all a matter of focusing on the match ahead didn’t sound entirely convincing but the whole farago was soon reduced to storm-in-a-teacup proportions as soon as his England started playing with purpose and verve.   

Carsley is clearly a gifted coach, who led the Under-21s to glory at last year’s European Championships without conceding a goal, and already has the seniors purring with positivity.

After 26 minutes of this match, England were two goals to the good, the scorers were Irish hate figures Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, and Carsley’s side boasted 86 per-cent possession.

The farcical pre-match sight of Carsley sitting on the Irish bench, then being tapped on the shoulder by an official who reminded him that he was on the away side now, was nothing more than a comedy meme.

Perhaps Carsley had simply been ‘too focused on the match’.

While the Irish were poor, their FIFA ranking of 58 sees them only six places below Slovenia – with whom England bored out a turgid goalless draw at the Euros before Gareth Southgate was pelted with beer cups by Three Lions fans.

Before we get too carried away about the idea of Carsley transforming England, let’s not pretend that Southgate’s team, who reached two Euros finals and one World Cup semi-final, never played entertaining football.

Against Holland in this summer’s semi-final, Senegal at the last World Cup, Ukraine at the previous Euros and in competitive wins against Italy, Germany and Spain – to name just a few – they performed style as well as achieving impressive results.

But England did often lack risk-taking bravery and there was a sense of world-class footballers playing beneath themselves – especially in Germany this summer.

So this was a marked improvement, after just three days of training under Carsley.

Rice and Grealish stole the show, thriving on the predictable hostility from home supporters, after their switches of international allegiance from Ireland to England.

EPAIreland’s Caoimhin Kelleher was much the busier keeper[/caption]

EPAHarry Kane skippered the first match of Carsley’s regime[/caption]

You simply don’t become £100m footballers if you can’t handle people being a bit rude to you.        

Rice, branded a snake on one fan’s banner and loudly accused of indulging in one-in-a-bed romps seconds before he lashed home an emphatic opener, was magnificent.

Grealish, enjoying the freedom of the No 10 role in the absence of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, steered home the second and played with sheer devilment.

Both goals had Carsley’s stamp on them. Trent Alexander-Arnold in his Liverpool role as a right-back who drifts into midfield, was in the centre of the park when he played the gorgeous pass which led to Rice’s opener.

And England’s second was a joyous rapid-fire pass-and-move affair, with Rice the architect and Grealish the executioner.

It became much more scruffy after the break as Ireland played with greater purpose but the job was done by then – and nobody was worrying about singing or seating arrangements.

Carsley is a fine tactician and man-manager and he will be relatively cheap – so the FA would love him to pass this six-match autumn audition for the permanent job.

The trouble is that none of England’s opponents – Ireland, Finland and Greece – are ranked in the world’s top 50, so there will be no elite tests to judge him on.

Still, at least we can forget about the anthems now.

When England’s football is singing, who gives a stuff whether Carsley does?

England Player Ratings vs Ireland

DECLAN RICE silenced his Irish critics with a dominant display in England’s Nations League opener.

Lee Carsley‘s players handed him a debut win as interim manager of the Three Lions.

Rice starred in the first half as he netted the opener and then set up England‘s second goal.

Jack Grealish doubled up for England after being set up by Rice 15 minutes later.

Anthony Gordon however faded in the match as he was not able to have as much success as Grealish.

SunSport’s Charlie Wyett has rated England’s players’ performance against Ireland…

JORDAN PICKFORD – 6

Pushed away a half decent shot from Sammie Szmodics at the start of the game but as England took control, he had a stress-free game.

After a difficult couple of weeks with Everton, he would have been grateful for this.

TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD – 7

Looked more at home at right-back compared to the disastrous midfield experiment at the Euros.

Stunning pass in a move that eventually led to the first goal. He has to remain as England’s right-back.

MARC GUEHI – 7

Enjoyed a decent Euros and switched over to the right of central defence as John Stones was named on the bench.

Looks increasingly like a top-drawer defender.

HARRY MAGUIRE – 7

Was left devastated after failing to make the Euro 2024 squad but he has enjoyed a decent start with Manchester United and looked solid here.

When he is not in the team, England do miss his aerial presence. 7

LEVI COLWILL – 7

Second appearance for England and was deployed at left-back.

Unlike the Euros, England have much better balance in defence with a natural left footer in this position. 7

DECLAN RICE – 9

Enjoyed an absolute stormer in what could have been a difficult afternoon.

Booed every time he touched the ball, the former Irish international quietened the boisterous home fans with a brilliant finish although refused to celebrate.

He then set up the second for Grealish.

KOBBIE MAINOO – 7

Fits perfectly into Carsley’s style of play. Some of his passing was excellent, particularly in the final third of the pitch, and this included his part in the outstanding second goal.

BUKAYO SAKA – 7

Enjoying a terrific start to the season with Arsenal – he has been nominated as their player of the month – and played with plenty of confidence here.

Was involved in the second goal.

JACK GREALISH – 8

Left out of the Euros squad, but loved every minute of this.

A decent finish for 2-0 and unlike Rice, celebrated in front of the visiting fans by raising both arms in triumph.

ANTHONY GORDON – 6

Looked really lively early on but faded.

He should have put England ahead when clean through but was lucky that seconds later, Rice hammered his shot into the corner. 6

HARRY KANE – 6

Missed with a header and despite working hard, did not actually have that many chances despite England having so much possession.

Subs
Gibbs-White (for Grealish 77 mins) 6, Gomes (for Mainoo 77) 6, Eze (for Gordon 77 mins) 6, Bowen (for Kane 84 mins) 6, Stones (for Maguire 85) 6.

Subs not used: Henderson, Pope, Lewis, Gallagher, Livramento, Konsa, Madueke.