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Match Centre: England 5-0 Republic of Ireland

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Match Centre: England 5-0 Republic of Ireland

Lee Carsley and Harry Kane faced the press on Saturday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s Nations league clash with Republic of Ireland at Wembley.

The England interim head coach and captain discussed the threat posed by Sunday’s visitors, what it would mean to seal Nations League promotion and much more.

Here is what they had to say in full.

Carsley on managing England since September:

It’s a great role, it’s been a brilliant experience. At times it’s been tough but that has been outweighed by nights like the other night. You always question whether you can do it and we’ve been out of our comfort zone. Our focus is on tomorrow now and that’s my priority, making sure we get the job done. We’re respectful of Ireland and the strengths that they have.

On what promotion would mean:

I try and look beyond myself. It’s important for the longer term and the best thing for us is to get promotion. That sets us up for what’s next. It will be beneficial for the players if they can do well tomorrow. Their application and how they’ve committed has been very good.

On the challenge ahead for the young players he has introduced:

The challenge is to stay there now. It’s a tough squad to get into and they’ve put themselves in the picture. It’s good for Thomas [Tuchel, who takes charge on January 1] that the pool has increased. I’ve seen them up close. I know what they’re capable of and they’ve got the mentality to compete. There are so many quality players, the competition is extreme, and they’ve got to stay in the race.

On whether Kane will play:

Harry is definitely playing tomorrow. He brings goals but a lot more too. He has leadership skills, he is a good guy and he sets a crucial example to the young guys. I’m looking forward to seeing him play well tomorrow. He brings something different to Ollie Watkins and it’s important we play to his strengths.

On what he expects from Ireland:

They’re getting better. We’ve watched all their games and the new coach is putting his spin on the team. Evan Ferguson is a player we know a lot about and our centre-backs will watch all of the clips.

Kane on being a sub against Greece:

It’s not the first time I’ve been a sub for England. I always want to start every game but that’s not always possible, we’re in a tough stage of the season, and whenever called upon I’ll give my best. The team played really well and it was an important win, which sets us up for tomorrow.

Kane on the England culture:

Whoever is in the squad is the most important thing and players have had a great opportunity this week. There will always be players injured, in and out, and a big part of international football is players coming in and making a difference. It’s down to me, Kyle Walker, Jordan Pickford and the other ones to build a culture. We don’t want to lose that as more young players come into the squad. We want to build that up to the 2026 summer. It takes a long time to build and maybe not so long to lose but we’re well aware of that. We’ve had some really good tournaments and we want to share those experiences and step by step we’ll help the lads understand what we’re going to be going into.

Republic of Ireland in profile


Nickname: The Boys In Green
Coach: Heimir Hallgrímsson
Captain: Seamus Coleman

FIFA World Cup best performance: Quarter-Finals 1990
UEFA EURO best performance: Fifth place 1988

 

Match stats and facts

● England have won their last two matches against the Republic of Ireland, beating them 3-0 in November 2020 and 2-0 in September this year. They have never won three in a row against Ireland before.

● Republic of Ireland won their first away match against England back in September 1949 at Goodison Park; since then, all seven of their games in England have been at Wembley and they’ve won none of them (D3 L4).

● England are unbeaten in their last 41 matches in all competitions when they’ve netted the opening goal (W38 D3) since losing 2-1 to Czechia in October 2019 in a UEFA European Championship qualifier.

● Republic of Ireland have won two of their last three UEFA Nations League matches (L1), as many as they’d won in their first 18 games in the competition combined (W2 D6 L10).

● Curtis Jones scored on his England debut against Greece in the last UEFA Nations League match – the last player to score in his first two England caps was Rickie Lambert in 2013, while the last Liverpool player to do so was Roger Hunt in 1962-63.

● 20-year-old Evan Ferguson has scored four goals in 17 caps for the Republic of Ireland – the only Ireland players with more goals before turning 21 are Robbie Keane (7) and David Connolly (6).

● Jude Bellingham’s 39 caps have all been while playing for non-British clubs (24 for Borussia Dortmund, 15 for Real Madrid). He is now level with Owen Hargreaves for England caps won while playing for non-British teams, with only David Beckham winning more (55).

● England have won four of their last five matches in the UEFA Nations League (L1), only one fewer than they’d managed in their first 18 games in the competition (W5 D6 L7).

● Republic of Ireland have won just one of their ten away matches in the UEFA Nations League (D3 L6), a 2-1 win at Finland last month.

● England have scored 14 goals in their last six UEFA Nations League matches, only one fewer than they scored in their first 17 games in the competition (15).

● This is the first competitive meeting between England and the Republic of Ireland at Wembley since a 1-1 draw in a March 1991 UEFA European Championship qualifier; Lee Dixon gave England the lead before Niall Quinn equalised.

● England’s first two goals in this year’s UEFA Nations League were scored in the first half – since then only two of their nine goals have been in the first 45 minutes.

● Republic of Ireland have only scored with one of their 21 shots in the first half of their UEFA Nations League games this year, though it was Evan Ferguson’s winner against Finland on Thursday.

Head to head


The Three Lions have played Republic of Ireland at men’s senior level on 18 occasions, registering seven wins, drawing nine and losing twice.

Last four meetings v Republic of Ireland


Republic of Ireland 0-2 England, UEFA Nations League, 7 September 2024

First-half goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish ensured victory for the Three Lions in Dublin in their opening game of the UEFA Nations League 2024-24. It was the first game under interim head coach Lee Carsley.

England 3-0 Republic of Ireland, International Match, 12 November 2020

The Three Lions ran out as convincing winners last time out as international football re-started following the COVID-19 pandemic. Goals from Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and Dominic Calvert-Lewin sealed victory on this occasion in a game which saw Jude Bellingham make his senior debut at the age of 17 years and 136 days.

 
Republic of Ireland 0-0 England, International Match, 7 June 2015

A first-ever trip to the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin ended in a goal-less draw as both teams played in a friendly in the midst of their EURO 2016 qualifying campaign.

England 1-1 Republic of Ireland, International Match, 29 May 2013

A match which was hosted at Wembley as part of the FA’s 150th anniversary celebrations turned out to be a competitive affair, with Shane Long’s opening goal cancelled out by Frank Lampard.

England Squad News

 

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Ticket Information

 

 

Where can I watch or stream England v Ireland?

UEFA Nations League games will be shown live in the UK on ITV and ITVX.

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