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.
Rice even made three appearances for Ireland before switching to England, while Grealish featured in youth sides. Carsley himself has 40 caps for the home nation on Saturday, but did not sing the anthem before those games, and hasn’t sung the British national anthem before matches in his role as England Under-21 manager.
“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,” Carlsey explained. “The gap between your warm-up, your coming on to the pitch, and the delay with the anthems. So, [singing is] 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.”
Rice is expected to be booed by the Aviva Stadium crowd, and there is potential for some pantomime hostility for Grealish, who may return to the starting line-up. Yet Carsley felt it was better to speak to the group as a whole; the Irish crowd may be all the more buoyant given this is a first match under new manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, who was assistant to Iceland when they beat England 2-1 in Euro 2016.
“I’ve not spoken to them two individually,” Carsley said of Rice and Grealish. “I spoke to the team about the understanding of the atmosphere, not only the atmosphere but the new coach, so we are still quite unsure on what to expect. I think if two players are prepared for it and everyone else isn’t, it’s going to be a bit of a shock. But yeah, we’ve spoken about what we think Ireland may do and the atmosphere and the tempo, and we will be ready for whatever we come up against.”
Harry Kane said he hasn’t discussed the matter with the duo either, despite having his own Irish heritage. His father’s family hail from Connemara in Galway, but the captain always knew he wanted to play for England – and says there was never an approach from Ireland.
“I haven’t spoken to Dec and Jack. I think everyone has their path to their career and theirs was a small part with Ireland and the rest of it with England, so they are mature enough to deal with that. And it’s going to be a tough game, the atmosphere will be tough, 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.
“So from my point of view, 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 come across the desk, so… Everyone is different, everyone has a different path, and for Dec and Jack it was just part of their footballing career so far.
“My dad was born in England, and his mum and dad were born in Ireland, so my grandparents were Irish but me being born in England… I always thought England was and is my country, but I am extremely respectful to Ireland and my grandparents – who are no longer with us. I still have family over there, so I am extremely respectful of them and I am sure they are looking forward to seeing me play in Dublin.
“I don’t think [representing Ireland] was ever on the radar. I would have to ask my dad for sure, he hasn’t told me about it if there was, but there might have been a few conversations when I was in the youth team that I didn’t know about. But like I said, I was focused on England and because I was in the England teams from a young age, there was no need to think about anything else. As always, I am extremely respectful of Ireland, because I have family over there as well.”