Despite taking an early lead through an Adam Idah penalty in the fourth minute, the Boys in Green fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to the Netherlands on Sunday night in the UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifiers.
This was the second consecutive loss for Ireland, having been beaten 2-0 at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Thursday. Back in June, The Irish Times reported that manager Stephen Kenny would be given these two matches to save his job and the Football Association of Ireland expected the team to pick up at least two points.
Unfortunately, Ireland earned none and have lost all but one game in the qualifiers so far. It is now anticipated that the FAI will pull the plug on Kenny’s time in charge of the national team.
The Mirror are claiming that Carlsey is the hierarchy’s preferred candidate to replace the former Dundalk boss while the Irish Examiner are reporting that talks with the former Everton man are imminent.
Furthermore, The Mirror have also revealed that there are a whole host of other potential replacements on the FAI’s list, including Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna and Shelbourne boss Damien Duff, a former winger for Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United but Carsley sits on top of the pile of names for now.
However, it is expected that the FA will resist any approaches for the England U21s head coach.
Writer’s View
Carsley would be an excellent choice to replace Kenny should the ex-Dunfermline Athletic head coach be dismissed from the hot seat.
Nonetheless, given the talk surrounding the future of England manager Gareth Southgate, Carsley will undoubtedly be one of the favourites to take over the Three Lions and so may not tempted by an appointment at the Aviva Stadium.
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