Football: England FA announce appointment of Lee Carsley as interim head coach

New Delhi: The England Football Association (FA) have confirmed that Lee Carsley has been appointed interim head coach of England's senior men ahead of the start of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign.

Carsley will step up from his role in charge of the Men’s U21 (MU21), initially for September’s fixtures away to the Republic of Ireland and at home to Finland, but might remain in the position throughout autumn while the FA’s recruitment process for a new permanent head coach continues.

“It’s an honour to step up and lead this England squad on an interim basis. As I am very familiar with the players and the cycle of international football, it makes sense for me to guide the team while the FA continues the process of recruiting a new manager. My main priority is to ensure continuity, and our goal is to secure promotion in the UEFA Nations League,” said Carsley to England’s media team.

The spot of the England head coach has been vacant since the 2024 Euros as Gareth Southgate, the man at the helm of the Three Lions for eight years, stepped down from his position following England’s second consecutive loss in the finals of the European Championship.

The 50-year-old has been MU21 head coach since July 2021 and last year led the Young Lions to a first UEFA U21 European Championship since 1984. Before that, Carsley held various coaching roles across England’s development teams and was briefly in charge of the MU20s.

Carsley also has extensive experience at club level having worked closely with the first teams at Coventry City, Sheffield United, Brentford, Manchester City and Birmingham City.

As a player, the Birmingham-born midfielder made 340 top-flight appearances and won 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland including playing at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

“Lee is a fantastic coach who is well known to the majority of our current senior squad having worked with most at international or club level. He offers us a very strong interim solution and we are confident he will perform well in the UEFA Nations League games ahead. We are grateful to Lee for stepping up to manage the team while we continue with our recruitment process,” said Mark Bullingham, FA CEO.