Carsley fits the bill for England...not a galactico like Klopp or Pep

THE Republic of Ireland football team has won three of its last 13 matches, two of those victories being against Gibraltar, a nation that comes in at 198th on FIFA’s world rankings.

- ANDY DUNN

Finland have a slightly better recent record, having won four of their last 10 games, but those wins came against San Marino, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Northern Ireland.

Finland who have never won a game against England - are ranked 63rd in the world, while the Republic of Ireland are ranked 58th.

Euro 2024 finalists England ranked fourth in the world - face Ireland in Dublin and Finland at Wembley in their next two games.

After that, in October, they host Greece, the 54th-ranked team in the world who have never beaten England, before a trip to Finland.

In November, it's then Greece away and Ireland at home.

These six matches will form Lee Carsley's audition for the permanent role after he was made interim manager last week. The initial appointment is for the September matches, but, said an FA statement, "with a view to remaining in the position throughout the autumn while the FA's recruitment process for a new permanent head coach continues".