ITV pundit Roy Keane fumed at England’s “arrogance” in the second half as they coasted to a 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in Lee Carsley’s first game in charge.
Goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish handed the Three Lions three points to kickstart their Nations League campaign, banishing the boos throughout the contest on the pair’s return to Dublin.
But although Ireland struggled to seriously threaten Jordan Pickford’s goal on too many occasions, Carsley would have hoped that his side could maintain their levels from the opening 45 minutes.
And Keane led the critics having watched England take their eye off the ball, despite a win and clean sheet in a hostile environment with a few key players missing.
“The frustrating thing is for today is that Ireland were there for the taking,” Keane said at full-time. “England dominated in the first half, we praised them, their decision-making, their quality in their movement.
“That was the opposite in the second half, I thought they were awful, they were playing for themselves, taking too many touches, try playing Roy of the Rovers passes. Keep doing the basics, suck Ireland out, but Ireland played with a lot of pride in the second half.
“But as good as England were in the first half I thought they were just as bad in the second half, players playing for themselves, substitutions strolling off, a bit of arrogance. This team is there for the taking, especially because of the attacking players.
“If you are on that pitch you are thinking ‘I’ve got a chance to score a goal’.”
Despite the outrage from Keane, England interim boss Carsley was delighted at getting the job done before moving onto a clash with Finland on Tuesday.
“I thought it was good in parts,” Carsley said. “You’ve seen some of the things we’ve tried to do. “The lads have to take a lot of credit, all of the credit. I think we’ve showed we’ve got some real talent and we can be really pleased with the clean sheet as well.
“I thought they [Rice and Grealish] took their goals really well. Really well-worked moves and brilliant finishes. I think, moving forward, they can both add a lot more goals to their game.”