England ended Lee Carsley’s interim spell in charge of the men’s national team with a dominant 5-0 UEFA Nations League home win over the Republic of Ireland.
Harry Kane’s second-half penalty got the ball rolling for the hosts – after Liam Scales was dismissed for a foul on Jude Bellingham – before four players scored their first England goal in an incredible spell from the Three Lions.
Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen, and Taylor Harwood-Bellis all found a way past Caoimhin Kelleher for the first time four players scored their maiden England goal in the same game since October 1930 against Northern Ireland.
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However, as Carsley prepares to hand the England baton to Thomas Tuchel on a positive note, it was another miserable night for Heimir Hallgrimsson’s Ireland.
Hallgrimsson was the shock choice selected to lead Ireland, after replacing interim boss John O’Shea in July, and his record with the Boys in Green has been mixed.
A 2-0 defeat to England in Dublin back in September was compounded by the visitors goals being scored by former Ireland international Declan Rice and ex-U21 star Jack Grealish.
Two defeats to Greece offered more pain for the downbeat Irish fans, but wins home and away against Finland saw green shoots of confidence, via Hallgrimsson’s pragmatic tactics.
Hallgrimsson has not shied away from the challenge ahead – and the limited talent pool available to him – but his post-game assessment left nothing to interpretation.
He said at full-time: “We kind of just gave up!
“It’s easy to stand outside and criticise the players, but it was a crazy moment that killed everything, not only the game plan, but the momentum and fight seemed to be taken away from the players.
“The first half was like we wanted it, but it’s easy to say we had a good first half, if you lose 5-0 there’s nothing you can say.
“It was six, eight minutes of madness, ending up with conceding a penalty. Losing the ball is one thing, not reacting is another and conceding a penalty, losing a player, it was a shock.
“I felt we lost our heads in the moment. After that, there was no way back.”
Ireland will now enter into a Nations League relegation play-off in March, with their opponents confirmed in December, and their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign will begin in September.