A second-half surge saw England breeze back into the top tier of the UEFA Nations League with an emphatic win over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley.
The visitors had massively frustrated England in the first half, going in level at the break, but a red card for Ireland defender Liam Scales was the turning point — not least as his foul on Jude Bellingham resulted in the penalty kick from which Harry Kane broke the deadlock.
Goals from Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis — all their first for their country — followed in a scintillating second half from Lee Carsley’s side.
The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke and Thom Harris analyse the key talking points…
Carsley steps away with reputation enhanced
The ‘Carsball’ era ended on a glorious high as England scored five second-half goals to finish this Nations League campaign in the best possible way. It means that Lee Carsley can leave with his head held high, having managed England through their campaign with five wins from six.
From the moment he took the job in August, he always said that the priority was to win this group and ensure promotion back to the A-tier in the Nations League for when this competition next comes around in 2026. He has put a tick in that box.
The strange thing, however, was that this was a game in which the two halves bore almost no relation to one another. In the first half, England were very poor; slow, predictable, toothless and starting to lose their discipline and their defensive security. It felt at that point like a repeat of the defeat to Greece here last month that threatened to derail the whole campaign.
Ultimately, England came out strong enough in the second half, and had enough firepower in reserve, to make all that irrelevant. Now this campaign is over no one will care that they were slow to get going here. Carsley has achieved his target and will step aside with his reputation enhanced.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Carsley won five of his six games in charge of England (Robin Jones/Getty Images)
The two sides of Harry Kane
If the first half was a reminder of the issues that building a team around Harry Kane can bring, the second showed the huge upside of the Bayern Munich striker. The latter was made clear in the move for the first goal; the moment that transformed this game.
With the ball very deep on England’s left, Kane looked up and hit a perfect, flat, diagonal pass into the Ireland penalty area for Jude Bellingham to run on to. It was a piece of genius — a pass that few other players, never mind centre-forwards, would have seen or been able to execute. Bellingham chopped back inside, Liam Scales was left scrambling and he could only concede a penalty and get himself sent off.
The penalty, of course, belonged to Kane and, with the new stutter run-up he has started to bring into his game, he beat Caoimhin Kelleher and put England ahead. From there, they never looked back.
There is always a lot of discourse about Kane and that will only increase after Carsley dropped him for Thursday’s game in Athens. When Thomas Tuchel shows up, there will be plenty of questions about Kane’s role: whether he is worth the goals he scores or whether a faster striker makes more sense.
But as he showed here, there are things he can do that nobody else can. He remains England’s best creative player, as well as their best goalscorer.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
Ireland nullified England… until it fell apart
Heimir Hallgrimsson doesn’t always guarantee results, but a diverse managerial career on the international stage has shown that the 57-year-old knows how to coach intensity and compactness without the ball.
Ireland restricted England to very little in a gritty first-half display, as Lee Carsley’s side failed to register a single shot on target. The defensive system was innovative, as the visitors shifted from side-to-side in a 4-1-4-1 shape, with Brentford’s Nathan Collins happy to step into midfield to man-mark the wandering Harry Kane or drop between the two centre-backs to form a secure back five whenever his team were penned in.
Down the flanks, too, the decision to play full-back Festy Ebosele on the right of midfield was vindicated, as he battled hard alongside Dara O’Shea to double up on Anthony Gordon while keeping an eye on those overlapping runs from Lewis Hall at wing-back.
It’s no surprise to see such desire without the ball — Hallgrimsson’s Jamaica caused a real stir in CONCACAF with some well-drilled counter-attacking displays against the U.S. and Canada — but the question of sustainability remains. Tonight’s heavy defeat was harsh as his team crumbled with a man disadvantage, but his time in the Caribbean fizzled out too, losing all three Copa America games this summer despite glimpses of solidity and fight.
Hallgrimsson admitted that his team will need to learn to play against higher-ranked sides ahead of World Cup qualifying but, while a bruising Nations League campaign suggests that there is still some way to go, Ireland must take heart from a promising opening 45 minutes — however long ago that may feel.
There is talent to build a squad around: Kelleher is a reliable shot-stopper, Collins is a commanding defensive presence, while Chiedozie Ogbene, Troy Parrott and Sammie Szmodics have proven that they can perform in top-flight European football. With more time, and a manager prepared to focus on the psychological side of winning without the ball, they should become more difficult to beat.
Thom Harris
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(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)