England players baffled as pitch invader lines up for national anthem in full kit

When England lined up for their Nations League match with the Republic of Ireland, the likes of Harry Kane and Trent Alexander-Arnold were joined by a pitch invader- with the players baffled before security took them away.

In what had been a controversial start to the new campaign, with Declan Rice and Jack Grealish's names roundly booed by the Dublin crowd after their switch in international allegiances, as the players lined up to sing the national anthem there was one person too many stood among the starting line-up.

England stars were wearing jackets on top of their kit, leaving the prankster at the end of the formation standing out like a sore thumb after managing to get onto the pitch wearing a full England kit.

He was swiftly removed by security as Anthony Gordon and Alexander-Arnold at the end of the England line looked on with baffled looks, though questions will be asked surrounding security at the Aviva Stadium, with a fan able to get so close to the players.

YouTube prankster Jarvo has claimed that he was the perpetrator, writing on X (formerly known as Twitter): "I am now England's fattest ever football player!!"

However, the contentious moments did not cede once the invader was removed, as national anthems got underway and interim England boss Carsley did not join in with his players.

Carsley, who was born in Birmingham but won 40 caps for Ireland during his playing days, considers himself Irish and caused outrage among some sections of the England fanbase by not singing God Save the King.

“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,” said Carsley in the build-up to the match. “The gap between your warm-up, your coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something that I have never done. I was always really focused on the game and my first actions of the game. I really found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off.

“I was really focused on the football and I have taken that into coaching. We had the national anthem with the Under-21s also and I am in a zone at that point.

"I am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game. I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of.”

After 11 minutes Rice left his mark against his former international team, latching onto a loose ball in the penalty area to score the first goal of the Carsley era.

He opted against celebrating, however, paying respect to the team he made three caps for before ditching them to play for the Three Lions instead.