David Hytner was at Wembley for us today. I’ll leave you with his report of a game of two distinct 45-minute segments.
Lee Carsley verdict
It was a good performance. We played with real intent and it was frustrating to come off 0-0 at half-time. I believed we’d score goals if we kept doing what we spoke about and it was great that we got out rewards in the end.
It was a great pass [for the first goal] and a great evening for a lot of the players [who scored their first goals for England]. The main thing was to get promotion and it’s pleasing in that respect.
When [Jarrod Bowen] went on I said to him, ‘Just shoot every time you get the ball!’ He’s got great quality and sometimes he can be a bit unselfish. He’s got to make sure he gets the goals and assists that he deserves.
[What’s the overriding emotion after this campaign?] I suppose it’s relief. I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch, to be attacking, to show what I see day-in day-out on the training ground.
[On picking so many debutants] I don’t think it’s a gamble – these are excellent players with a mentality that stands out. They’ve got a history of winning, especially the under-21 players, and they expect to win when they turn up to play for England.
[What has this stint given you as a coach?] I think it’s given the staff and myself the confidence that we can do the job. That was a big thing – you always doubt yourself and whether you can do it or not.
We often speak about how there’s a lot of England manager sat in their house picking the team and squad. So to have the responsibility to do that – and the trust from my bosses – has given me a massive boost of confidence.
“So,” begins Kári Tulinius, “my son watched his team get comfortably beat by a mid-ranking European side on a cold November evening, with Finland offering little of quality beyond the halftime hot dog and cocoa. He can’t wait to go again.”
The ITV pundits, Roy Keane and Ian Wright, are going through the goals and have just got to the fifth by Taylor Harwood-Bellis
Marc Pougatch (presenter) Not everyone knows, that is your future son-in-law.
Roy Keane (deadpan) It’s not done and dusted yet. Listen, things can change very quickly in the Keane household.
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Harry Kane’s reaction
It’s been a really good camp – we got the job done. It was a tough first half but we came out for the second half with a lot more energy and we finished it off.
[Is that as good a pass as you’ve hit?] I think so. Yeah it’s probably one of the best. I expected Jude to score but it probably worked out best with them getting a man sent off and us getting a penalty.
[On four players getting their first goal for England] Amazing. We spoke in the week about there being opportunities for new lads and other players who have been in the squad without getting the minutes. There were a couple of great finishes. It was nice for Jarrod to come on and score straight away.
Thomas has got a lot of players to choose from – a lot of young players who have come in and done really well and some experienced boys who are injured, who we want to come back and fight for their place. We’ve got a good balance.
[On Lee Carsley] He’s been top-drawer, him and all the staff as well. It’s never easy to go again straight after a major tournament; sometimes the motivation isn’t as great. But the coaching team showed great energy, brought through some young lads and I’m really glad we won today to finish off happy.
There are no extravagant gestures from Carsley at the final whistle, not that we expected any. He really should have charged onto the field, one finger raised, like Jose at the Nou Camp in 2010. Carsley’s would have even more iconic given he’s wearing a puffer jacket rather than a sharp suit.
Full time: England 5-0 Republic of Ireland
Fifty-eight years of hurt have finally come to an end: England have won Group B2 of the Nations League. They overwhelmed ten-man Ireland in the second half, scoring five times in 27 increasingly euphoric minutes. It was all sparked by a stunning pass from Harry Kane, which led to a penalty and a red card for Ireland’s Liam Scales.
90+3 min I got something wrong: Jarrod Bowen’s goal was also his first for England, which means there have been four new goalscorers in this game. According to Opta, that hasn’t happened in an England game since 1930.
90+1 min Three minutes of added time.
90 min Barring any more goals, Lee Carsley’s record as England manager will be P6 W5 D0 L1 F16 A3 Pts 15.
89 min Another save from Kelleher, this time to flap away Bowen’s mishit shot. Ireland break and Gomes is booked for a tactical foul.
88 min Kelleher makes a pretty good save, adjusting his feet to kick away a crisp low shot from Kane.
86 min: Ireland substitution Sammie Szmodics is replaced by Kasey McAteer.
86 min Bellingham’s shot from the edge of the area is blocked, possibly by Kane. There were about 15 players in the penalty area.
85 min A weary O’Shea fouls Rogers and is booked.
84 min This is cruel on Ireland, though there are genuine positives to take in the quality of their performance for the first 50 minutes. One truly magnificent pass from Harry Kane changed everything.
82 min Bald fraud or bald genius? I think we know the answer.
81 min Just before that goal, Angel Gomes came on for Curtis Jones in midfield.
Lee Carsley’s farewell has turned into a feelgood romp. Harwood-Bellis stayed up for a corner and met Bellingham’s fine driven cross with an excellent header back across Kelleher. He’s the third player to score their first England goal in the last 25 minutes.
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GOAL! England 5-0 Republic of Ireland (Harwood-Bellis 79)
Taylor Harwood-Bellis scores on his debut!
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79 min Collins makes a desperate lunging tackle to stop Solanke, six yards out, putting Bowen’s low cross into the net. For 50 minutes Ireland had their bodies in the oven and their brains in the fridge. Since then the whole lot has been in the oven.
It was a fine free-kick, straight from the training ground. Bellingham took it short, near the corner flag on the left, got it back and slid a crisp low pass towards the penalty spot. Bowen ran round the ball and whipped a first-time shot past the unsighted Kelleher. Excellent goal.
GOAL! England 4-0 Republic of Ireland (Bowen 76)
Jarrod Bowen scores with his first touch!
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76 min “My first game: New York Cosmos 6-2 Valur (Icelandic champions) in a friendly in Reykjavik in 1981,” writes Alex Moffett. “A hattrick from Giorgio Chinaglia. Me and my dad, wind chill of ten degrees, metal bleachers. Paradise lost.”
No phones either I’ll wager.
75 min: Triple substitution for England Dominic Solanke, Morgan Rogers and Jarrod Bowen replace Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke.
72 min Kane slips his man in the area and is about to score his second when Cullen makes a stealthy interception from the side. Terrific midfield play that.
72 min “Hi Rob,” begins Peter Oh. “That pass from Kane to Bellingham really tipped the Scales.”
Way-hay!
71 min Kane almost gives Madueke a shooting chance with an imaginative scooped pass. It bounces slightly awkwardly and Madueke’s heavy touch puts it behind for a goalkick.
70 min “The Ireland non-penalty highlights the essential (but by no means only) problem with VAR,” says Niall Mullen. “If the on field ref doesn’t give it then we bemoan our bad luck and move on. However, if the accuracy bots don’t give it then we get to cry foul/conspiracy. So on behalf of my nation: FOULSPIRACY!”
I’d like to see you put that to Roy Keane.
68 min Madueke immediately tests Manning with a slippery run into the area. He’s about to shoot when Manning makes a good recovery challenge. Ireland deserve better than to be bammered here. Even the penalty wasn’t really Scales’ fault; he had to make that challenge. The first yellow card, for some off-the-ball posturing with Gallagher (I think) is the one that cost him.
66 min: Triple substitution for Ireland Ryan Manning, Finn Azaz and Troy Parrott replace Festy Ebosele, Evan Ferguson and Callum O’Dowda.
64 min Conor Gallagher tries a rabona from the edge of the area which loops over the bar. I can’t spake.
63 min The geometry of Kane’s pass for the penalty was not dissimilar to this Xavi masterpiece in 2009-10. Kane was much further out, on the left wing, and had to hammer the ball, but Xavi had more moving parts and a much smaller eye in the middle. Both were truly great passes.
62 min: England substitution Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis comes on for his England debut in place of Kyle Walker.
60 min Greece are now 2-0 up in Finland, a blow to Kári Tulinius’s son but probably not to England. It’ll be a helluva story if Ireland get a result from here.
59 min There was a VAR check for offside but the goal stands. England have scored three in less than six minutes.
GOAL! England 3-0 Republic of Ireland (Gallagher 58)
For 50 minutes Ireland were almost note perfect; now they’re in danger of being thrashed. Madueke’s corner from the right was headed on at the near post by Guehi and poked it from two yards by Gallagher. It’s his first England goal as well!
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That was beautifully taken. Livramento scarpered down the right and clipped a cross towards the near post. An attempted clearance deflected towards Gordon, who reacted very smartly to twist his body and crack a volley into the bottom corner from about 10 yards. The Newcastle fans will have loved that.
GOAL! England 2-0 Republic of Ireland (Gordon 56)
Anthony Gordon scores his first goal for England!
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54 min England needed that goal because Anastasios Bakasetas had just put Greece ahead in Finland. The pass from Kane was just stunning.
GOAL! England 1-0 Republic of Ireland (Kane 53 pen)
Kane sends Kelleher the wrong way to give England the lead. He usually goes left, and that’s where Kelleher dived, but this time he sidefooted it to the right.
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GOAL! Finland 0-1 Greece
Penalty to England and a red card for Scales!
51 min Kane, 40 yards from goal on the left wing, drives an unbelievable through pass to Bellingham, who chops back inside Scales and is tripped. A clear penalty – and a second yellow card for Scales, who picked up a needless booking in the first half.
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47 min “Stonewall penalty in the 22nd minute,” says Michael Kiernan. “Check it again. Guehi pulls, and holds onto Ferguson’s shirt, pulling him to the ground. At no stage did Ferguson pull Guehi’s shirt. Where was VAR?”
Yes I meant to say, having seen a replay at half time, that I got that one wrong. I guess shirt-pulling goes unpunished all the time but Guehi could have had no complaints had it been given. It feels like the VAR threshold is particularly high in Uefa competitions. Are they even using VAR today? I should probably know that.
46 min Peep peep! England begin the second half with no changes on either side.
“The ref not taking any of Jude Bellingham’s guff, and giving him a yellow card instead, was very satisfying,” writes Matthew Lysaught.
Bellingham’s been different in the last year or so, hasn’t he? At the Euros I thought he was a red card waiting to happen. To borrow a phrase from England’s past, have a word with him.
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Do you remember the first time?
Tim Jones “My first game was Swansea v Leeds in about 1962. My uncle took me because John Charles was supposed to play for Leeds. But disappointingly he was replaced by someone called Jack Charlton.”
Tim Woods “Portsmouth 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday in 1987. I don’t remember much of the game except that Mark Chamberlain scored a goal. My abiding memory is the atmosphere… Fratton Park was quite the experience as a wide-eyed 10-year-old.”
Bogdan Kotarlic “Yugoslavia 5-0 Cyprus, November 1979, European Championship qualification. I was seven years old, Yugoslavia won 5-0 and I felt awesome. I loved that country and I am still sad that Yugoslavia does’t exist anymore. Still, there are some great footballing memories regarding that country although we were always underachievers.”
Richard Hirst “Fulham 3-3 Millwall in the FA Cup in 1965. Fulham, in the old Division 1, were leading Millwall (Division 4) 3-1 with not long to go. Needless to say we lost the replay. Perfect preparation for a life supporting Fulham.”
Nigel “My first match was watching Walton and Hersham at Stompond Lane in what was then the Athenian league. I don’t remember the opponent or the score but I followed them for years until they went to the amateur FA cup at Wembley where they won, 2-1 I think. I think my dad was as thrilled as I was.”
Bruce Crawford “Old Trafford, 5 December 1964. So coming up to 60 years ago! My mum and dad took me aged 5 to see United for the first time and I just have a memory of fog. The game was very nearly abandoned, and in fact was temporarily suspended at which point I remember being taken back to the car by my mum. Dad arrived later when it finally finished and Leeds had won 1-0. I was hooked for life, and got to see those who became my heroes Best, Law & Charlton, but it shows how the memory plays tricks because for years I had an image in my head of Billy Bremner looming out of the fog, only to find out more recently he hadn’t even signed for Leeds at that point!”
[He was at Leeds but you might be thinking of the FA Cup semi-final later that season.]
Nigel Moore “I remember my dad taking my brother and me to see Sunderland play Man City at Maine Road 1953-54 when I was six. The only memory of the game I have is all the legs of the spectators but afterwards trying to play like Len Shackleton who was the big star then.”
Dave Radmore “I’m the anecdotal proof that hosting a summer tournament creates new fans. After the joy and ultimate disappointment of the Euro 96 summer, I was invited to go along to the opening match of the season at Cambridge United by a friend. They won 1-0, couldn’t tell you who they played [Barnet – ed], and I was immediately hooked for 30 years of pretty much abject misery with the occasional bright spot, and wouldn’t change a thing.”
Darren “I haven’t been to that many matches (five) so I can remember every one. My first was as a glory-hunting Liverpool fan in London. My mum asked if I wanted to see them play her team Arsenal at Highbury. I was ten, and this sounded like a great idea. We were in the East Stand, near to the North, and I couldn’t see a thing. Just as well, my beloved ‘Pool got tonked 3-1, and I only knew about the late consolation goal thanks to commentary from my mother.”
[I think that was September 1984]
John Parry “18 September 18 1971. George Best hat trick! United 4-2 West Ham. One of the many things I have to thank my dear departed dad for. The ITV cameras were there...”
Thanks for sending in your memories of your first live game. I’m afraid I didn’t have time to go through them all, mainly because it looked like England were going to get a red card as half-time approached.
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Half time: England 0-0 Republic of Ireland
Well that wasn’t great. England were frustrated by a superbly organised, occasionally niggly Ireland side and didn’t manage a single shot on target. The half-time whistle comes at a good time for England, who were starting to lose their rag.
As things stand England are still going to win Group B2, but that’s only because Greece are also drawing in Finland.
45+3 min: It’s kicking off! Molumby tries to block Kane, who throws him to the canvas, at which point some players on both sides get involved. Both players are booked.
45 min Three minutes of added time. There still hasn’t ben a shot on target.
43 min And now Scales has been booked for some off-the-ball nonsense.
42 min That frustration I was talking about: Bellingham has also been booked, presumably for dissent.
41 min O’Dowda turns the tables on Madueke, who brings him down and is booked. England are getting increasingly frustrated.
39 min Kane overruns the ball slightly, allowing Scales to make an empathic and entirely fair man-and-ball challenge. The Ireland fans enjoyed that.
38 min Hall’s chipped cross is diverted to Madueke, whose off-balance shot is blocked. Hall has arguably been England’s best player in the first half.
36 min Szmodics, back on the field, wants a penalty after going down in the England area. For a split-second it looked like he would be through on goal after a long pass by O’Shea (I think), but Walker stooped to get a crucial headed touch back to Pickford.
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36 min Bellingham slashes a half-volley well wide with his left foot. Ireland have done a really good job on England so far.
35 min I’m happy to say it looks like that was a false alarm – he’s ready to come back on the field. The way he fell looked horrible, slightly reminiscent of Simon Jones’ awful injury in the 2002-03 Ashes.
33 min Sammie Szmodics is down with what looks like a nasty injury. His foot got stuck in the turf, with nobody else near him, and he immediately started punching the ground in pain. This looks serious I’m afraid; it could be ligament damage.
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30 min England take a short corner to Bellingham, who plays an imaginative give-and-go with Madueke and then drags a cross on the turn well wide. The angle was far too tight by the time he got to the ball, but it was a nice idea.
29 min Madueke appeals unsuccessfully for a penalty when his close-range shot is blocked by Scales.
27 min Lewis Hall makes a good run behind the defence on the left and drives a dangerous low cross that is booted away at the near post by Collins.
25 min Not much is happening. You’d expect England to break Ireland down eventually but they haven’t managed a shot on target so far. The one save Kelleher made was from a Madueke cross in the fifth minute.
22 min Guehi and Ferguson grab one another’s shirts in the penalty area, a tactic that is more risky for Guehi. Again the referee isn’t interested, but the Irish fans are loudly affronted when it comes up on the big screen.
22 min Thanks for sending in your memories of your first football match. I’ll collate as many as I can and publish them at half-time.
21 min Ebosele goes on a winding run from right to left before going over just outside the area. He thought he was fouled by Livramento, the referee did not.
19 min England continue to probe, though it’s not easy to find an eye in the needle – as I type Ireland have all 10 outfield players within 25 yards of their own goal.
16 min England are on top but it hasn’t been one-way traffic, and overall I suspect qualified dentist Heimir Hallgrimsson will be happy with how Ireland have started.
13 min Walker is playing the role at centre-back at both ends. He is first to another Madueke corner, but this time he gets ahead of the ball and can only head it whence it came.
11 min Bellingham rakes a shot from 20 yards is that blocked by Cullen. England have started well, particularly through Madueke on the right.
10 min “My first game was, I think, Spurs 6-0 Slovan Bratislava (6-2 on aggregate) in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963,” writes Jon Scott. “My second game, though it’s possible I have mixed the order, was Spurs 6-2 Man United. Those were the good old days. That 6-2 scoreline in both helps me remember.”
I’d have to double check but from memory I think it was Man Utd first, on 24 October 1962, with the Slovan Bratislava game on 14 March 1963.
7 min Ebosele barrels thrillingly down the right, away from Jones, but Guehi steps across to make a well-judged interception.
6 min “Rather fitting that Lee Carsley signs out on his pretty successful England tenure with a match against Ireland, the team he played for,” says Colum Fordham. “He’s been understated, imaginative, at times to the point of recklessness, but has not put too many steps wrong. Say ‘aah’!”
5 min: Chance for England! Madueke slaloms thrillingly past two players in the area and drives a low cross from the byline that is kicked away by Kelleher. Jones runs onto the loose ball, 20 yards out, and hits a stinging shot that deflects behind for a corner.
The resulting corner leads to a good chance for Walker, who gets the run on Molumny at the near post but heads Madueke’s inswinger over the bar.
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3 min “I’m at Finland v Greece with my nine year old son,” writes Kári Tulinius. “It’s his first match, outside a couple of second tier games in the Icelandic league, and he’s very excited. I’ve prepared him for the possibility of a loss for the Eagle Owls, but he believes. Let’s hope the home team pulls one out of the bag.”
That’s so sweet. I was going to say you never forget your first game but I’ve just realised I can’t remember mine. All I know that it was somewhere in London in the late 1970s. I started drinking at a very young age.
2 min Ireland are actually playing with Nathan Collins in midfield in what looks like a 4-1-4-1 formation. Ferguson is up front with Szmodics playing from the left.
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1 min Peep peep! Ireland kick off from left to right as we watch.
A reminder of the teams
England (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Livramento, Walker, Guehi, Hall; Gallagher, Jones; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane.
Substitutes: Henderson, Trafford, Lewis, Gibbs-White, Gomes, Quansah, Harwood-Bellis, Watkins, Rogers, Bowen, Solanke.
Republic of Ireland (possible 5-4-1) Kelleher; O’Shea, McGuinness, Collins, Scales, O’Dowda; Ebosele, Cullen, Molumby, Szmodics; Ferguson.
Substitutes: O’Leary, Travers, Doherty, Parrott, Johnston, O’Brien, Moran, Azaz, Manning, Coventry, McAteer, Cannon.
Referee Erik Lambrechts (Belgium).
It’s pouring down at Wembley, and both anthems have just been roundly booed. Tremendous.
“As a trepidatious Ireland fan I am hoping that we avoid a shellacking,” says Niall Mullen. “That will likely depend on the catlike reflexes of Caoimhín ‘Caoimh’ Kelleher. As a proud Three Lioner yourself would you swap him for Pickford?”
That’s a good question, apart from the fact I’m neither proud nor a Three Lioner. As a neutral I’d probably keep Pickford at this stage, for his experience as much as anything, but there isn’t much in it. Kelleher is ceaselessly impressive. I remember MBMing a Liverpool game during Covid, possibly at home to Wolves, when he made his Premier League debut. He kept a clean sheet but what really stood out, even in the first 10-15 minutes, was how calm and authoritative he was. Even when young keepers make great saves, you expect them to be like a cat on a hot tin roof.
Good Luck Mr Gorsky Carsley
“Thanks for clarifying the Ireland manager is a qualified dentist,” says DFGTR EDTRTT (sic). “So many unqualified dentists out there.”
You’re most welcome; information should be shared. I can lend you a couple of vowels as well if you like.
“Guess what?” says Jeremy Boyce. “I’m beginning to wonder if the FA weren’t a little hasty in picking up the phone to Thomas Tuchel. Carsley has made a more than decent fist of his interim term. The Greece embarrassment at Wembley aside, results have been okay, and should be again tonight.
“The no-shows have obliged him to turn to others, and he’s turned to the yoof. Quite right. They are the future, and if you’re good enough you’re old enough. Wasn’t there a famous northern team manager who thought similarly? Maybe two of them?
“He also seems to understand the idea of ‘rotation’, not overburdening your best players, picking on merit and form, not reputation. TT may have done him a favour, he’ll have good credentials when the inevitable managerial merry-go-round spins next time.”
In my opinion, if Carsley was the permanent manager he’d been overwhelmed by the off-field nonsense. He’s an outstanding youth coach, one the FA should cherish. That’s the impression I get, anyway, and I can’t be locked up for it. At least not yet.
Curtis Jones, who in the last couple of months has taken a shortcut from good to really, really good in the last couple of months, also gets another start tonight.
Lee Carsley speaks to ITV
[What impressed you most against Greece?] The mentality that we played with, the ability and intensity. We spoke about matching their enthusiasm. We did that and we’ll have to do the same today.
[On having the same five players behind the striker] With the time we’ve had on the training ground, I felt it was important to have more consistency of selection.
[On Tino Livramento] He’s a player I’ve coached for a number of years. He’s very talented, he’s playing well for Newcastle, so I’m looking forward to watching him.
GARY NAYLOR, THIS IS FOR YOU
Exciting news for all retro football fans: a new series of 'The Big Match Revisited' is in the pipeline, with ITV looking to cover the 1984-85 season. You can read more about it in the next issue of 'Backpass'. @JohnWilliams004 pic.twitter.com/S2JHPBV8Fi
— Greg Lansdowne (@Panini_book) September 25, 2024
“The football will have to go some to get anywhere near the Anderson - Littler semi-final in the darts,” says Simon McMahon. “Did you see it? It doesn’t get any better. Sorry if you’re not watching, no spoilers.”
Are you suggesting that, because the blog hasn’t been updated for about half an hour, I must have been spellbound by one of the greatest semi-finals of all time? You’ve got nothing on me!
Noni Madueke starts again tonight, having been one of the success stories of the Carsley Months.
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Team news: Hall, Livramento start
Lee Carsley continues to experiment, giving a debut to Tino Livramento and a full debut to his fellow Newcastle full-back Lewis Hall.
Harry Kane also returns in the only other change from Thursday’s win in Greece. Ezri Konsa (injury), Rico Lewis and Ollie Watkins drop out.
The Republic of Ireland also make three changes from their win over Finland. Luton’s Mark McGuinness makes his debut in defence, with Dara O’Shea and Jayson Molumby also coming into the side. Matt Doherty, Jason Knight and Mikey Johnston drop out, which probably means a switch to a back five.
England (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Livramento, Walker, Guehi, Hall; Gallagher, Jones; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane.
Substitutes: Henderson, Trafford, Lewis, Gibbs-White, Gomes, Quansah, Harwood-Bellis, Watkins, Rogers, Bowen, Solanke.
Republic of Ireland (possible 5-4-1) Kelleher; O’Shea, McGuinness, Collins, Scales, O’Dowda; Ebosele, Cullen, Molumby, Szmodics; Ferguson.
Substitutes: O’Leary, Travers, Doherty, Parrott, Johnston, O’Brien, Moran, Azaz, Manning, Coventry, McAteer, Cannon.
Referee Erik Lambrechts (Belgium).
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of England v Republic of Ireland at Wembley. The Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson may be a qualified dentist, but Lee Carsley’s spell as interim England manager has been more like a trip to the dentist. Okay, it’s had enough in common for a half-arsed analogy. We spent much of the time wincing, whining and worrying, only to belatedly realise it was far less painful than we feared and we’re in a healthier state than we were beforehand.
If England beat the Republic of Ireland at Wembley this evening, they will win Group B2 and return to – ludicrous phrase alert – the Nations League top table. In fact all they need to do is match Greece’s result in Finland, so victory may not be essential.
History will probably be kind to Carsley, who put his big bald head in the firing line for the greater good. He balanced the present and future almost perfectly, getting the results needed while conducting various fact-finding missions that will make Thomas Tuchel’s life easier when he takes over in the new year.
All of the above will be hastily deleted if England make a Horlicks of this afternoon’s game. But let’s not go back to the dentist’s waiting room just yet.
Kick off 5pm.
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