Will not sing England’s national anthem on Saturday for the first time as caretaker manager, Lee Castles has said.Having held the venue since 2015, Castley said his pre-event chants of God Save the King will not change.
The 21-year-old England youngster led the way to European success last year and is a member of the football team.“That’s something I’ve always struggled with when I’ve played for Ireland, your warm-up.It’s something I’ve never done before because of the gap between being on stage and singing.I really focused on the first few actions of the game.That’s when I really found my mind blown away.I really focused on football and coaching.There was also the national anthem with the under-21s and I was in a zone at that point.How will the opposition look and what are we thinking about our first actions in the game?I fully respect both national anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries.It’s something I really respect,” he revealed last week about becoming Ireland manager.
Declan Rice and Jack Grealish acknowledged that England captain Harry Kane, who also has Irish heritage, could receive a “hostile” reception from the home crowd if selected, representing Ireland with age-group teams and in Rice’s situation at senior level, but they remain loyal to England.
“Everybody goes on their career path and part of them is with Ireland and the rest is with England, so they’re mature enough to deal with it. It’s going to be a tough game, the way I’ve spent my career with England youth teams and under-21s and first teams, Ireland’s not something I’ve really thought about much or even put on the table,” Kane said.
Kane was substituted after 61 minutes in the semi-final against the Netherlands and the final against Spain.He admitted his performances had fallen below normal standards, but was confident he would thrive under Carsley.After Ollie Watkins’ withdrawal, Carsley moved to Al-Ahli and the England No.9 was missing after Ivanto left.The Bayern Munich forward has scored a total of 66 goals for his country at Euro 2024 but has struggled to hit his best form.
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman says the door has been closed on striker Steven Bergwijt’s international career and Carsley wants to keep an eye on Toney.Before making the decision to sign him.“It’s good to go to an actual live game to feel the atmosphere and pace of the game.Because sometimes I don’t really understand it in the video.So I think it would be reckless to dictate someone’s entry and exit,” he said.
