England U-21 coach Lee Carsley is reportedly set to be appointed as interim head coach of the senior team for next month’s UEFA Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
Carsley led England U-21 to victory in the 2023 European Under-21 Championship for the first time in 39 years. The
50-year-old will fill the position vacated by Gareth Southgate, who stepped down as England’s senior coach two days after losing to Spain in the Euro 2024 final last month.
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The appointment of an U-21 coach as interim head coach of the senior team is not the first time this has happened in the England national team, with Howard Wilkinson, Stuart Pearce and Southgate also moving up after coaching youth teams.
Southgate was appointed as England’s permanent manager and led the team for eight years, reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, the World Cup quarter-finals in 2022 and the European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024.
The Football Association (FA) is still looking for a replacement for Southgate and has even posted a job listing for the position of head coach on its website. The
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FA has not commented on the search for Southgate’s replacement but has said that it has an “interim solution”.
Carsley, 50, is a former Premier League midfielder who played for Derby and Everton during a 17-year career.
He then went on to become a coach and had spells in charge of Coventry, Brentford and Birmingham on an interim basis before joining the England team in 2020.