England comfortably beat the Republic of Ireland 3-0 on a cold Thursday night at Wembley.
England manager Gareth Southgate named an experimental side for the game saving his key men for Sunday’s Nations League game against Belgium.
England won thanks to goals from Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and the in-form Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson made his England debut, replacing Nick Pope for the second half of the game.
Borussia Dortmund youngster Jude Bellingham also made his Three Lions bow – coming on at half-time to make him England’s third youngest-ever player at just 17 years and 137 days.
The first goal came from a surprising source with Maguire, captain for the night, heading home from 12 yards after rising highest to meet Harry Winks’ cross. The goal marked a fantastic turn-around for Maguire following his nightmare summer in Greece and red card during his last international outing in the 1-0 Nations League defeat by Denmark in October.
Sancho doubled England’s lead just after the half-hour mark with a cultured finish. Their dominance was asserted when Calvert-Lewin smashed home a penalty in the second half after Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka was chopped down by Ireland’s right back Cyrus Christie.
The game saw another impressive performance from Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish too – which is becoming standard service from the man who has recently struggled for minutes under Southgate. Grealish, who like another of England’s midfielders in Declan Rice, actually represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level before switching allegiance to England at senior level. He was one of the hosts’ main threats on the ball, and looked eager to make an impact before being replaced by Phil Foden on the hour mark.
Foden, 20, was returning to the England fold for the first time since being sent home in disgrace from Iceland after breaking the bio-secure coronavirus bubble and inviting girls into the hotel alongside Mason Greenwood.
The Republic of Ireland were looking to win against England for the first time since Euro 1988 – a 1-0 victory thanks to a Ray Houghton goal. However, the visitor looked lacklustre and devoid of any real threat throughout the night – only registering four shots (two on target) throughout the entire game. The Three Lions made sure that the Republic of Ireland’s manager, Stephen Kenny, was left going home empty-handed on what was his first-ever trip to Wembley.
England players, staff and fans alike will be hoping for a similarly dominant performance on Sunday night, when they take on Belgium (7.45pm kick-off) at the King Power Stadion in Leuven. They’ll also hope that momentum carries over at Wembley on Wednesday night when they take on Iceland – who have received special dispensation from the UK government to travel into England from Denmark for the game.
Meanwhile, it’s a short trip to Cardiff for the Irish, who take on Wales in their next Nations League game on Sunday (5pm kick-off). They’ll be going all out for three points which could prove vital in their battle to avoid relegation to Group C1 in the Nations League.
By Dylan Chavasse
