12 mins: GOAL FOR ENGLAND! Of course it’s Declan Rice. Gordon was through on goal from Alexander-Arnold and great save from Kelleher, then Gordon hits it back into the box to Kane, it’s blocked and who does it fall to? Rice, who buries it in the net.
He doesn’t celebrate. It had to be him.
Earlier, Szmodics had a chance with a shot well saved from Pickford
Ireland 0 England 1
7 mins: Ireland showing a lot of aggression early doors, not letting England much space. Gordon shows threat on the left wing and the cross from Alexander-Arnold to Kane is just headed over. Best chance from England so far.
Ireland 0 England 0
4 mins: Chance! An early corner for Ireland, and a big opportunity! Molumby gets the flick on and heads it over, should have hit the target. Earlier Grealish got the crowd’s ire for an altercation.
Ireland 0 England 0
2 mins: Mainoo gets pushed off the ball in the opening move then Rice gets booed. Will be a full-time job for the crowd today. Looks like Trent Alexander-Arnold will be inverting into midfield and hits a nice long ball to Gordon but just offside.
Ireland 0 England 0
English national anthem is roundly and loudly booed. Amhrán na bhFiann gets a greater reception obviously. Kane and Coleman shake hands. Ready to go.
A funny moment before the game:
Electric atmosphere at the Aviva as the teams come out. Should be a good match. More booing for Grealish and Rice.
Here are the teams again:
Ireland team v England: Kelleher; Doherty, Coleman, O’Shea, Collins, Brady; Molumby, Smallbone; Ogbene, Szmodics, Idah
England: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Guehi, Colwill; Rice, Mainoo, Grealish; Saka, Kane, Gordon
Next up, the national anthems...
Some pre-match reading from Muireann Duffy. A history of Ireland and England soccer matches. Ireland have won twice with nine draws between the teams. Who will be the Ray Houghton figure to stick the ball in the England net this evening?
[ Ireland v England through the years: A potted history of every fixture since 1946Opens in new window ]
A considerable booing for Jack Grealish and Declan Rice then as they are announced at the stadium.
Malachy Clerkin writes that beating England would be fun, but Ireland’s future depends on games against teams such as Greece. Heimir Hallgrímsson takes over a side with a lot of experience playing against elite teams, but his reign will live or die on improving results against mid-ranked countries. Read more from Malachy here.
A pre-match message from Paul Cooke, the FAI president.
“Your support is going to be vital so please ‘raise the roof’ at the Aviva. And if you see any of the politicians here to witness history in the making, please remind them that football - Ireland’s biggest participation sport - is calling for real support now from Government, local and national, to ensure we develop the future generations who can deliver those breath holding moments.
“No other sport can deliver on the world stage like football. Our historic games against England proved that in the past and we make no apologies asking for Government fund to ensure more historic days in the future. Our young players, many of whom will be watching tonight, deserve to have the best facilities, the best academies, the best opportunities to realise their potential, whatever their level.
“The Irish football community, as taxpayers, deserve Government support for our sport. Don’t be afraid to say that in the coming months when we ask you to put Irish football first. You have always done that to be fair and I know you will put our team first this evening when it really matters against England. Enjoy the game”.
Some interesting selections there. Ireland like to go 5 at the back with Doherty wing back. Molumby in midfield for grit. For England, Rice and Grealish start. An attacking team, with Carsley’s star player for the under 21s Anthony Gordon on the wing.
Ireland team has been announced:
The England team:
Ireland team v England: Kelleher; Doherty, Coleman, O’Shea, Collins, Brady; Molumby, Smallbone; Ogbene, Szmodics, Idah
England: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Guehi, Colwill; Rice, Mainoo, Grealish; Saka, Kane, Gordon
Ken Early thinks new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson sees Ireland much as Trapattoni, O’Neill and McCarthy did, pragmatism first in a break from the “principles” held by Stephen Kenny.
Compared to most other teams we don’t have good players, so if we want to survive we have to be humble, keep it simple, play as a unit, defend for our lives, and make the set pieces count. No more empty rhetoric about ‘attractive’ or ‘progressive’ football, no more huffing copium about performances and potential. A new pragmatic Ireland will be judged on results. Let’s see how it goes.
— Ken Early
[ Ken Early: Hallgrímsson to signal a return to a pragmatic first principlesOpens in new window ]
A match preview from Gavin Cummiskey, focusing on the new manager. “Heimir Hallgrímsson did not move to Dublin, as the new Republic of Ireland manager, to make friends.” He can make plenty of Irish friends for life if he pulls off a win today though.
More on that Lee Carsley story from Mary Hannigan who writes: “God save Lee Carsley as English press lose their tiny mind over singing of anthem”. In the Daily Mail:
Lee Carsley has made his decision. He will not sing the national anthem as he assumes charge of England for the first time.
Now it is up to the Football Association to take theirs. Sack him. Ideally, right now. Just before kick-off if needs be
— Jeff Powell
Imagine that actually happened. It wasn’t just the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and the Daily Telegraph as well. Mary has more on the pre-match reaction.
[ God save Lee Carsley as English press lose their tiny mind over singing of anthemOpens in new window ]
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Ireland’s game against England at the Aviva Stadium in the Nations League, kick-off is at 5pm. It is a lovely warm September day in Dublin for the welcome of the auld enemy, the first game against the English on Irish soil for nine years. There are narratives aplenty here, so much so that somehow new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson’s first game is down the pecking order. England have a new interim manager, Lee Carsley, who happens to have played 40 times for Ireland. He has already hit the headlines for not committing to singing God Save the King at the Aviva, with Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail saying he should be sacked before the game. Yikes. Watch out for the touchline when that comes on.
Declan Rice and Jack Grealish might be happy that some attention has moved away from them, particularly Arsenal midfielder Rice who played three games for the Ireland senior team before switching allegiance to England. This is his first game back in Irish soil since then. His reception should be interesting. This is the first Ireland game of the 2024/25 Nations League B, Finland and Greece the other two in the group.
The line-ups will be posted here when they are made available.
