Lee Carsley explains why he doesn’t sing England’s national anthem | Football

Carsley is the interim Three Lions boss after Gareth Southgate stepped down following defeat in the final of Euro 2024.

It is unclear how long the 50-year-old will remain in the job, but has two games to look forward to in the coming days, first away to Republic of Ireland, followed by a home clash with Finland on Tuesday.

The game on Saturday is especially significant for Carsley as he won 40 caps for Ireland as a player, qualifying for the country through his grandmother.

It could be assumed that his decision not to sing England’s national anthem on Saturday is a mark of respect for the country he played for, but he says he has actually never joined in when the singing begins.

Instead he wants to focus on the game ahead, not distracted by anything else going on around him.

‘This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,’ said Carsley. ‘The gap between your warm up, you coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something that I have never done.

‘I was always really focused on the game and my first actions of the game. I really 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 gonna 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.’

England captain Harry Kane is not expecting a friendly reception in Dublin, although he could have been wearing green rather than white if his career had panned out differently.

‘It’s going to be a tough game – the atmosphere will be tough,’ he said. ‘We are going into a place where we expect it to be a little bit hostile but that is no different to a lot of away games we face.

‘My grandparents are Irish but the way my career went with the England youth teams and the 21s and the first team, Ireland wasn’t something that was really given much thought or even came across the desk.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.