England secured automatic promotion to League A of the UEFA Nations League after stunning the Republic of Ireland, thanks in part to a five-minute triple at the start of the second half at Wembley on Sunday.
Neither side had been able to force a shot on target throughout the first half, though a Liam Scales red card allowed the Three Lions to open the scoring through a Harry Kane penalty inside ten minutes – and the goals just kept flowing for the hosts.
Anthony Gordon and Conor Gallagher extended that lead to three goals before the hour mark had rolled around, with Jarrod Bowen adding the fourth with his first touch after coming on as a substitute. Taylor Harwood-Bellis added the fifth on his debut, becoming the eighth player to earn their first senior cap during Lee Carsley’s six-game tenure.
As it happened
England started brightly at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, forcing an early corner as Caoímhin Kelleher could only clear Noni Madueke’s low delivery from the right flank as far as Curtis Jones. The Liverpool midfielder’s ferocious effort from the edge of the box was deflected over the crossbar, with Kyle Walker squandering a golden opportunity to open the scoring as he nodded over from the resulting corner.
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite boasting an impressive 75% of possession throughout the first half, the Three Lions often found themselves making poor decisions in the final third and coupled with Festy Ebosele’s explosiveness, this allowed the Republic of Ireland to generate a few chances of their own, though they too were unable to create a shot – on or off target – before the break.
Heimar Hallgrímsson’s visitors were left feeling aggrieved when their penalty appeals were waved away by the Belgian referee, who deemed that Kyle Walker had not committed a foul by felling Sammie Szmodics as the Ipswich Town talisman surged towards goal.
It was the first sign that this UEFA Nations League clash would descend into chaos on the pitch, with five yellow cards dished out between the 40th minute and the half-time whistle. Madueke’s needless foul on Callum O’Dowda saw the Chelsea forward pick up the first booking of the night, with Jude Bellingham swiftly joining him for his protests and Liam Scales for his delaying of the restart. Harry Kane, left out of the starting lineup during England’s comprehensive victory in Greece on Thursday, would also pick up a warning as he tangled with Jayson Molumby.
The visitors endured a nightmare start to the second half at Wembley, finding themselves reduced to ten men as Scales was dismissed for his second bookable offence of the evening. The defender was judged to have clipped Bellingham inside the box, allowing Harry Kane to despatch a dinked effort from the penalty spot that solidified England’s lead of Group B2 and left them in control of their own destiny.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Republic of Ireland’s defensive woes would be exploited by a rejuvenated England side soon after, with a teasing Livramento cross poorly dealt with by Nathan Collins to allow Anthony Gordon to pick out the bottom-left corner – and the Three Lions showed no signs of slowing down, with Marc Guéhi flicking a Madueke corner towards Conor Gallagher at the far post for England’s third goal inside five minutes.
England looked content to be settling for a three-goal lead on home turf, until Jarrod Bowen arrived as a substitute in the 75th minute and scored with his first touch after finding space inside the 18-yard box to slot through the Ireland defence. The goals didn’t stop flowing there either, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis connecting with a well-weighted Bellingham cross at the back post to nod home England’s fifth goal of the evening on his senior debut.
Three points at Wembley ensure England will play their next UEFA Nations League campaign in League A, with Thomas Tuchel set to take charge of those fixtures after officially replacing Carsley on 1 January 2025.
The lineups
ENG: Pickford; Hall, Guéhi, Walker, Livramento; Jones, Gallagher; Gordon, Bellingham, Madueke; Kane
IRL: Kelleher; O’Dowda, Scales, Collins, McGuinness, O’Shea; Molumby, Cullen, Ebosele; Ferguson, Szmodics