Lee Carsley’s spell as interim manager comes to an end on Sunday as England host Ireland in the UEFA Nations League at Wembley Stadium.
Both teams head into this clash on the back of a win. England romped to a 3-0 victory over Greece on Thursday, while Ireland edged Finland 1-0 at the Aviva Stadium, ensuring they will avoid automatic relegation.
The last time the two teams met, goals from ex-Ireland youth players Declan Rice and Jack Grealish saw England dominate and secure a win in Carsley’s first game at the helm.
A win on Sunday will guarantee England promotion into League A of the competition, in time for new manager Thomas Tuchel to take the reins in January.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Key Details:
Date: Sunday, Nov. 17 at 5:00 p.m. BST (12:00 p.m. ET).
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Ref: Erik Lambrechts
VAR: Bram Van Driessche
How to Watch:
The game will be shown live on ITV and ITVX in the UK. You can also follow along with ESPN’s live updates.
Stats:
To be provided by ESPN’s Stats and Information Group.
Team news:
With nine England players pulling out of the squad at the last minute prior to the Greece game, Carsley relied on uncapped debutants to take three points.
Arsenal‘s Bukayo Saka and Chelsea‘s Cole Palmer are among the nine players to have withdrawn from the squad. Levi Colwill, Phil Foden, Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Aaron Ramsdale, Jarrad Branthwaite and Rice are also not available for selection against Ireland.
Harry Kane was omitted from the starting lineup against Greece, with Carsley opting for Aston Villa‘s Ollie Watkins. The decision raised eyebrows given Kane has scored 68 goals in his international career compared to 11 combined for the starting XI on Thursday
Carsley has backed Kane to respond to being rested against Greece and confirmed he will start on Sunday. He added that Ezri Konsa suffered a hip injury and will undergo scans on Saturday.
For Ireland, experienced defensive duo Shane Duffy and Seamus Coleman both withdrew from the squad due to injury last week.
Key Quotes:
Harry Kane on England withdrawals: “The joy to play for England, I think he [former manager Gareth Southgate] brought that back. Every camp, people were excited to come, people wanted to play for England and that’s the most important thing. I think England comes before anything, comes before club.”
Lee Carsley on the strong performances of young players in the squad: “It represents that we are moving in the right direction … We have a lot of outstanding talent. The players that weren’t here, we concentrated on the ones who were. They took their opportunity today.”
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