Nations League League B Group 2: Republic of Ireland 0 England 2 [Rice 12, Grealish 26]
Write the worst script imaginable for the Republic of Ireland versus England in Dublin.
It took 26 minutes for the superiority of Lee Carsley’s outfit to manifest in the shape of goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who both came through the Irish underage system.
With faux sincerity, Rice refused to celebrate. Grealish almost jumped into the crowd of English supporters at the Havelock Square end.
The boos from the 50,359 attendance were replaced by 3,000 England fans chanting The Great Escape theme tune to their hearts’ content.
Lee Carsley deals with the madness of the England job with ease on an impressive first night
Heimir Hallgrímsson admits Séamus Coleman ‘unlikely’ to feature against Greece
Declan Rice and Jack Grealish brush off boos to be England’s two best players against Ireland
Alexander-Arnold and Gordon play havoc as England dominate Ireland
This was so far removed from English performances at Euro 2024. The injection of Anthony Gordon and Grealish brings a different dimension to their attack, while Rice looked revitalised under Carsley.
It helped immeasurably that Ireland under new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson invited England on, refusing or unable to play possession football.
The day had started so well. Play the hits. Carsley, the caretaker England manager with 40 Ireland caps, laid out the cones before his players trotted on to sun-kissed Lansdowne grass. It was a far cry from his debut “on a horrendous, waterlogged rugby” field in 1997.
Same patch, different surface.
Mandinka by Sinéad O’Connor welcomed Rice to the scene of his third international cap. For Ireland. This was his 59th appearance for England and he proved his €124 million value is warranted.
As the Aviva swelled to the sound of U2 and Aslan, English fans arrived to see a massive Jack Charlton banner, reading: “Thank You For The Days”, down the south end.
The DJ knew his audience, 12 minutes before kick-off Put ‘em under Pressure by, eh, Charlton blared around the horseshoe. Irish fans serenading an England World Cup winner from 1966 caught the visitors on the hop.
The old ground was alive. A handshake between Séamus Coleman and Harry Kane in the tunnel. Donegal and Galway boys made good before a large man in full England kit made it to the red carpet, standing beside Gordon until security dragged him away.
Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higgins gave a hearty welcome to Grealish while Rice gave the president a two-hand shake. Respect.
Both anthems were roundly booed by the opposing fans.
It took 100 seconds for Jayson Molumby to bounce off Grealish. From the resulting Robbie Brady corner, Molumby’s snap header cleared the England crossbar.
That was the Ireland chance.
Gordon’s first run at Coleman and cross cleared everyone, but Trent Alexander-Arnold returned a lovely ball on to Kane’s head. Nathan Collins had lost the Bayern Munich striker, who missed the target.
Sammie Szmodics had a look in the 11th minute that Jordan Pickford easily parried. But that moment disappeared from memory seconds later, when Alexander-Arnold pinged a 40-metre pass for Gordon. Despite an excellent Caoimhín Kelleher save and Collins blocking Kane’s follow up, Rice pounced to make it one-nil. Top corner. Kelleher could only watch. Will Smallbone lost his man.
The non-celebration celebration from the former Ireland international only served to infuriate the home crowd. It felt disingenuous.
“A dagger to the heart,” said Shay Given on RTÉ.
Carsley had no issue showing emotion, letting out a roar before embracing his staff.
Another miraculous Kelleher save denied Kane, after Rice and Gordon continually raided down the left. Only 15 minutes clocked, and England were dominating all areas.
The problem is well known. Ireland could not string three passes together, which continually invited counterattacks from Gordon, and that’s before Bukayo Saka found his rhythm down the right.
Statistics midway through the first half told a story: England had 78 per cent possession and 92 per cent passing accuracy from 209 attempts. Ireland only managed to complete 147 passes over the 90 minutes for 70 per cent accuracy.
The atmosphere fell off a cliff when Rice created the second England goal, expertly finished by Grealish.
The future England captain cut through a thicket of green shirts, using Kobbie Mainoo and Saka for rapid one-twos before a square ball helped revive Grealish’s flagging international career. Playing through the middle as a traditional number 10, the 28-year-old shot under three Irish bodies, again giving Kelleher no hope.
There was little evidence of this being a contest between Premier League equals. Ireland started with eight, as Robbie Brady and Molumby earn a living in the English second tier and Adam Idah at Celtic. England started with 10 and Kane.
Rice ran the show from midfield with Smallbone and Molumby unable to touch him.
Something, anything, was needed before the interval. Chiedozie Ogbene obliged, taking Mainoo on a 30-metre sprint down the left, only to clip the ball over Idah and Szmodics.
The second half was a sluggish affair. Following heavy contact with Harry Maguire, Coleman was forced off injured after 57 minutes.
When Ireland finally switched the play, Dara O’Shea picking out Ogbene, and Jason Knight darted to the front post, Ogbene picked out Szmodics in a similar position to where Grealish scored.
Szmodics missed the target.
Knight and Ogbene kept hustling England on the right, which allowed Szmodics to turn and tee up Molumby, who blasted a shot high and wide.
Greece come to Dublin on Tuesday, another full house, with expectations on the floor.
IRELAND: Kelleher (Liverpool); Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Coleman (Everton), O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Collins (Brentford), Brady (Preston North End); Smallbone (Southampton), Molumby (West Bromwich Albion); Ogbene (Ipswich Town), Idah (Celtic), Szmodics (Ipswich Town).
Subs: O’Brien (Everton) for Coleman, Knight (Bristol City) for Doherty (both 57 mins); Alan Browne (Sunderland) for Smallbone, McAteer (Leicester City) for Idah (both 75); Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion) for Brady (82).
ENGLAND: Pickford (Everton); Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Maguire (Manchester United), Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Colwill (Chelsea); Rice (Arsenal), Mainoo (Manchester United); Saka (Arsenal), Grealish (Manchester City), Gordon (Newcastle United); Kane (Bayern Munich).
Subs: Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest) for Grealish, Eze (Crystal Palace) for Gordon, Gomes (Lille) for Mainoo (all 77 mins); Bowen (West Ham United) for Kane, Stones (Manchester City for Maguire (both 85).
Referee: José María Sánchez (Spain).
