England interim coach may only have two games to prove he's up to the job

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A new era for England's soccer team begins on Saturday. How long it will last is unknown.

Interim head coach Lee Carsley takes charge of his first game against Ireland — the country for which he played 40 times, including at a World Cup — after Gareth Southgate stepped down following the European Championship.

Carsley, who stepped up from coaching England Under-21s, has the role for Nations League games against Ireland and Finland but could remain in the position for longer if the search for Southgate's permanent successor extends beyond the next international break in October.

“It's not something I'm overawed by,” Carsley said on Friday in a news conference after arriving in Dublin. “I'm excited by the challenge.”

The 50-year-old Carsley may even put himself in the frame for the top job on a permanent basis.

“He’s a great manager tactically, man-management is great. ... I feel like it suits him perfectly," said Morgan Gibbs-White, who has been called up for Carsley's first squad.

Gibbs-White, a Nottingham Forest midfielder, was part of England's Under-21 European Championship squad which Carsley coached to the title last year.

Southgate ended his eight-year reign as England coach after the loss to Spain in the final of Euro 2024. He led the team to back-to-back European Championship finals and the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018 but failed to end England's wait for a first trophy since the World Cup in 1966.

The English Football Association has set a high benchmark for his replacement and said in July it had already identified several candidates.

It said the job was to “win a major tournament and be consistently ranked as one of the top teams in the world.”

The FA said its next head coach would have “significant experience of English football, with a strong track record delivering results in the Premier League and/or leading international competitions.”

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was quickly mentioned as a potential contender, though he has said he wants to take a year out after stepping down from his position at Anfield at the end of last season.

The closing date for applications was Aug. 2, but with no candidate in place ahead of England's first games since the Euros, Carsley was given the job on an interim basis.

While Carsley has no experience as a Premier League manager, he is respected for his work developing young players, having been part of Manchester City's successful academy.

England's success at the U21 Euros last year was the first time since 1984 that it won the competition. Whether the FA would consider that among the “leading international competitions" it wants its next head coach to have experience in remains to be seen. But Carsley is in position and will know Southgate's own ascension to the job came after he was initially named as interim in 2016.

That makes the games against Ireland and Finland potential auditions for him to put forward his credentials. Saturday's game is in Dublin. Finland visits Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.

Carsley said he doesn't see this as a “fresh start” for England, but rather building on what was achieved with Southgate.

He is without star players like Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, but has picked some exciting young talent.

Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes and Noni Madueke — all uncapped — were part of that U21 Euros-winning squad, along with Anthony Gordon and Levi Colwill.

Gomes describes Carsley's style as “very attacking, but also (with) a huge emphasis on defense."

He also speaks highly of Carsley's personal touch.

“He’s a very fair coach. He’s very, very honest and direct in his approach and he’s very close to the squad,” Gomes said. “It helps as a player when a coach takes interest in a player, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch.”

New Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson is aiming to make his own statement in his first game in charge.

He already played a part in shocking England once. Hallgimsson was Iceland's co-coach with Lars Lagerback when the team beat England 2-1 in the last 16 at Euro 2016 in one of the most humiliating results in English soccer history.

“I hope we will have the same result tomorrow, of course," he said on Friday. “Everything we did that night succeeded, whether it was tactical, taking our chances, defending our goal ... and nothing England tried that night succeeded, so it was just one of those days.

“Hopefully it will come again tomorrow. But we know, even if we have our best game, it still isn’t sure it will lead into a victory against a good team like England."

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

James Robson, The Associated Press