Pitch invader in England kit evades security to join team line-up before Ireland clash

It was an eventful start to the Nations League clash in Dublin

A pitch invader joins the England team line-up (Getty Images)

A pitch invader in full England kit managed to join the pre-match line-up in Dublin ahead of the Nations League fixture against the Republic of Ireland.

The prankster, wearing an England home shirt, shorts and socks with the number ‘69’, joined the end of the line of England players and reached winger Anthony Gordon before he was caught by security.

He was then hauled off the pitch before the pre-match anthems, as ‘God Save the King’ was booed by Ireland supporters amid a fiery atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

• Amid the chaos of Dublin, Lee Carsley has quietly revealed England’s new direction

(Getty Images)

(Getty Images)

There were also boos for Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who both played for Ireland at youth level. Rice did not celebrate his goal after firing England into the lead.

Meanwhile, there was focus on England interim manager Lee Carsley, who did not sing the national anthem having explained his reasoning in a pre-match press conference.

The 50-year-old – who represented Ireland as a player between 1997 and 2008, making 40 appearances – told the media that singing the anthems is “something that I have never done”, either as a player or during his time in charge of England’s youth sides.