Ireland 0-2 England LIVE RESULT: Ex-Irish stars Rice and Grealish hand Carsley winning start to interim reign – reaction
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ENGLAND have kicked off their Nations League campaign with a dominate 2-0 win over Ireland.
Former Ireland representatives Declan Rice and Jack Grealish were handed starts by interim gaffer Lee Carsley, who has 40 caps himself for the 'Boys in Green'.
It was Rice who bagged the opener with a thumping finish - and despite the boos from the Dublin crowd, the Arsenal midfielder refused to celebrate.
On 26 minutes, Grealish got on the scoresheet with a guided finish past Caoimhin Kelleher to make it 2-0 and kick off Carsley's interim reign with a win.
- Match result: Ireland 0-2 England
- Ireland team: Kelleher, Coleman, O'Shea, Collins, Doherty, Smallbone, Molumby, Ogbene, Szmodics, Brady, Idah
- England team: Pickford, Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Guehi, Colwill, Mainoo, Rice, Gordon, Grealish, Saka, Kane
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That's all from Dublin
England won their first match under interim boss Lee Carsley, who replaced former manager Gareth Southgate at the helm.
And the Three Lions put together an impressive performance against the Republic of Ireland, especially in the first half, to win 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium.
Declan Rice opened the scoring after just 11 minutes and set up Jack Grealish's strike only 15 minutes later.
Rice and Grealish were both on the receiving end of some intense booing from the home crowd after previously playing for Ireland.
But the Premier League duo led the visitors to a comfortable victory in the Nations League.
Credit: Sportsfile Carsley on general performance
England were very impressive under interim boss Lee Carsley, but he insists it is his players that deserve the credit.
I wouldn't call it my way of playing [in the goals], the player have to take a lot of credit.
The way they took on some of the things we spoke about, moving the ball forward quickly, running forward, trying to get in pockets, I thought they did really well.
On a really dry, sticky pitch, Anthony [Gordon] was a real threat. He's carried on his form from last season and looks a really dangerous player.
You've got to give Ireland credit [for the second half], they were resilient and closed the gaps.
Our space went a little bit wider and we found it a little bit more difficult to get through them. But at 2-0 we were quite comfortable.
Lee Carsley
Credit: Getty Carsley on Rice and Grealish
England interim boss Lee Carsley praised Declan Rice and Jack Grealish' performance.
They both took their goals really well, they were really well-worked moves and brilliant finishes.
They can both score a lot more goals moving forward.
Jack hasn't got anything to prove to us, we can see his quality.
That will have done him the world of good today, and hopefully he can continue that form.
Lee Carsley
Credit: EPA
Grealish on Euros snub
Jack Grealish scored his first England goal after being snubbed from the Euro 2024 squad, which he insists motivated him.
It meant everything today. Going to the fans at the end, hearing them singing my name and stuff, there's no better feeling than playing for England especially in games like this where you know the whole nation is watching you.
It was one of the worst summers of my life, because you can't not see everything happening in front of you.
It was difficult, but it's given me more motivation to bounce back.
Jack Grealish
Credit: Sportsfile Grealish on Ireland boos
England star Jack Grealish insists there are no hard feelings despite the boos from a section of the Republic of Ireland fans.
[The reception] Is what me and Dec [Declan Rice] expected. I said before the game, it's different; we have nothing bad to say.
We both enjoyed our time playing here, I have a lot of Irish in my family. There's no bad blood whatsoever from my side.
Obviously, going back to myself - I need to start playing regularly and scoring goals, and that's what I did today.
I did that today and didn't feel 100 per cent fit, fit, but I'm happy."
Jack Grealish
Credit: PA Rice on Carsley
England star Declan Rice revealed it has been "refreshing" working under interim boss Lee Carsley but insisted there is no point in comparing him to former manager Gareth Southgate.
We scored hundreds of goals under Gareth Southgate like that. That goes under the radar, we scored some amazing goals under Gareth.
It's been really refreshing this week working with Lee Carsley.
I've really enjoyed it and so have all the lads. To win today and get off to a good start was the main thing for us.
Declan Rice
Credit: Reuters England player ratings
JORDAN PICKFORD - 6
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD: - 7
MARC GUEHI - 7
HARRY MAGUIRE - 7
LEVI COLWILL - 7
DECLAN RICE - 9
KOBBIE MAINOO - 7
BUKAYO SAKA - 7
JACK GREALISH - 8
ANTHONY GORDON - 6
HARRY KANE - 6
Subs: Gibbs-White (for Grealish 77 mins) 6, Gomes (for Mainoo 77) 6, Eze (for Gordon 77 mins) 6, Bowen (for Kane 84 mins) 6, Stones (for Maguire 85) 6.
Credit: Sportsfile Full match report
Declan Rice and Jack Grealish rammed the Irish fans’ taunts down their throats with the first-half goals that gave England a comfortable victory.
A banner in the Irish end of Lansdowne Road proclaimed “The snakes are back” alongside pictures of the pair.
But the players who switched allegiance to the Three Lions after wearing the famous green showed why they are £100m footballers, the most expensive Englishmen of all time.
Rice was superb, scoring the first with an emphatic finish then teeing up Grealish for the second at the end of a superb move. Ireland and their fans had no answer.
England interim boss Lee Carsley had set himself up and his team for a day of mockery by mistakenly sitting in the home dugout before kick-off.
But a day that threatened to be all about that mistake, and the silly row about former Republic of Ireland international Carsley not singing the national anthem, soon turned into a take of how the snakes bit back.
Any fears that the level of excitement would be far lower than the pre-match controversy soon disappeared.
Credit: Getty More from Dave Kidd
It was me who asked Birmingham-born Carsley that question - given his previous life as a midfielder who won 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland, now taking charge of his native country for the first time at senior level in Dublin, of all places.
But the idea that his refusal to sing a song should make him ineligible for the job of managing a football team is patent nonsense.
Like approximately half of people in an increasingly globalised society, Carsley - whose paternal grandparents were Irish - was eligible to play international sport for more than one nation.
And like most such people, he has genuine allegiance to both countries, complicating matters such as anthems.
Carsley had never previously sung either, as an Ireland player or as England’s Under-21 boss.
His claim that it was all a matter of focusing on the match ahead didn’t sound entirely convincing but the whole farago was soon reduced to storm-in-a-teacup proportions as soon as his England started playing with purpose and verve.
Carsley is clearly a gifted coach, who led the Under-21s to glory at last year’s European Championships without conceding a goal, and already has the seniors purring with positivity.
Credit: Getty
World from the ground
He walked straight out of the tunnel and sat on the wrong bench, then stood tight-lipped throughout God Save The King.
But when Lee Carsley’s England team strut around giving a passable impression of Brazil at the 1970 World Cup, then frankly who cares?
They say that managing England is the impossible job, that the politics, the media glare and the millions of armchair critics make it a thankless task.
Yet if England are winning and playing thrilling football - as they did in the first half of this Nations League clash - then the rest is all irrelevant white noise.
Carsley has navigated his first serious sewage storm, his first public embarrassment and his first match in charge.
And the interim boss has emerged with flying colours, leading England to their first win in Dublin since 1964.
Credit: EPA Nations League table
England are top of their Nations League group after beating the Republic of Ireland 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium.
Ireland are bottom of the table and both teams will now wait for the match between Greece and Finland.
The Greek host the Finnish tonight at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
Republic of Ireland vs England stats
England stood out against the Republic of Ireland as they controlled 77 per cent of possession.
The Three Lions also registered 16 shots, nine of which were on target.
Ireland, on the other hand, only managed six shots and only one of them was on target.
More below:
FT: Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
England won their first match under interim boss Lee Carsley with an impressive performance against the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
The Three Lions only took 11 minutes to break the deadlock with Declan Rice who smashed the ball against Caoimhin Kelleher's top left corner.
Rice refused to celebrate out of respect to his Ireland past as he played for the national team before switching allegiance to England.
The Arsenal star then set Jack Grealish up for the second on 26 minutes with a fine low cross from the right.
Unlike the midfielder, Grealish, who also used to play for Ireland, went on to celebrate his first goal after his Euro 2024 omission.
Credit: EPA FT: Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Peep!
That's full-time in Dublin!!!
90+4 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Chance!
Another missed opportunity!
Saka tries a curling shot from a tight angle down the right but Kelleher denies him again.
Eze gets a difficult header in front of open goal but sends it over the crossbar.
90+3 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Chance!
England come extremely close to a third as Saka plays a low cross from the right and finds the incoming Bowen whose close-range shot is blocked by Kelleher.
Ireland have a lot to thank the Liverpool keeper for, the scoreline would have been far heavier without him in goal.
90 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Five more minutes of stoppage time to go.
Ireland are still pushing for a late goal, McAteet calls for a pen but it seems like he just tripped.
88 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Chance
Englnd sub Eze tries his first shot but sends it wide off the mark.
87 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Uh-oh, Rice's problem has returned and starts to limp again.
A section of the Ireland fans, who have been booing the Arsenal star, are loving this.
85 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Chance!
England sub Bowen gets his first touch and carries the ball to the area from where he fires a powerful shot but Kelleher palms it away!
84 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Substitution
Another switch by Carsley as Bowen comes on for captain Kane.
And Stones, who gets the armband, replaces Maguire.
82 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Substitution
Ireland boss Hallgrimsson makes another change as Ferguson replaces Brady.
80 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Just 10 minutes to go until full-time and England are still comfortable.
Arsenal fans can also breathe a sigh of relief as Rice is perfectly fine as he ran off whatever he had earlier...
77 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Substitution
England interim boss Carsley responds with a triple switch and hands Gibbs-White as well as Gomes their first ever caps.
The Nottingham Forest star replaces Grealish, who gets booed one last time from the home crowd, and the Lille ace takes Mainoo's place.
Eze also comes on for Gordon.
76 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
Yellow card
Another booking for Ireland as O'Brien is cautioned for a rough clash with Gordon.