Republic of Ireland 0-2 England: Nations League – as it happened

David Hytner has filed his match report from the Aviva Stadium, so that’s my cue to say goodnight. Thanks for your company, correspondence and opinions on the unimportance of anthems. It’s been a pleasure, as always. Do head over to the Paralympics live blog or drop by later for John Brewin’s MBM on the women’s singles final at the US Open. In the meantime, here’s Dave.

England won … 9-1 on shots on target, 16-6 on attempts at goal, 5-0 on so-called clear-cut chances, and 713-204 on passes. Oh, and 2-0 on goals.

The home fans didn’t get the result they wanted, but they made plenty of noise.

And here’s Lee Carsley, in his tracksuit (burgundy). “I thought it was good in parts,” he says. “You’ve seen some of the things that we’ve tried to do. The lads have got to take a lot of the credit, well all of the credit. We’ve shown that we’ve got some real talent, and really pleased with the clean sheet too… I wouldn’t call it my style or my way of playing [but] running forward, trying to get in pockets, they did really well.”

Asked about the goals coming from two players who (like him) had represented Ireland in the past, he swerves the political element of the question and sticks to the football. “Really well-worked moves, brilliant finishes. I think they could both, moving forward, add more goals to their game.”

Here’s an unexpected email. “Just to solve a family argument,” says Johanna Samuel, “what shade of blue is Kelleher’s kit?”

Not sure you’re asking the expert here, but after rewinding the telly, I’d say it was electric.

Rice is asked about the goals, and whether “the structure, the dynamism” was a Lee Carsley hallmark. Rice pauses for thought. “I think so,” he says tentatively, “but what gets forgotten is that we scored hundreds of goals under Gareth like that.”

This is such a crucial point. When one boss builds on the work of another, it reflects well on them both. It’s not a competition!

Rice and Grealish are now facing the microphone, which has to be easier than facing the crowd. “There’s no bad blood from my side,” says Grealish, in his Brummie accent. “There’s lots of Irish in my family.”

“Ireland supporter here,” says Christina Melia. “OK, we were outclassed and dominated, but there were some good moments from the Greens. Ogbene is a force to be reckoned with, Kelleher is on form and McAteer looks like he could be useful. Also, the England fans didn’t tear up the stadium this time. It wasn’t the humiliation you guys thought it would be. I’m disappointed but hopeful!”

Time for a glance at the inbox. “Would it be fair to say,” asks Tom Hopkins, “that Anthony Gordon has shown both why people were so keen for Southgate to play him in the summer and, maybe, why he didn’t?” Ha, yes. His shooting wasn’t half as good as the rest of his game.

Lee Carsley did a fine job in the first half, when England’s passing was sharper than it was in the last days of Gareth Southgate. Like his team, he was less impressive after half-time, taking too long to send on fresh blood. When he did, in the last 20 minutes, England found their spark again.

The first task was to win, and that England have done, for the first time in Dublin for 60 years. And the first time in the Nations League for four years, since the 4-0 thrashing of Iceland in 2020. They top the group, for now, and face Finland on Tuesday.

FULL TIME! Ireland 0-2 England (Rice, Grealish)

90+3 min Chance for England! Bowen shoots on target but without much power. And another! A better one for Saka, who curls his shot towards the far corner, drawing a save from Kelleher. Saka was set free by a beautiful ball from Gibbs-White, stroked with the outside of the right boot.

90+2 min Saka almost takes the hint, playing a smart one-two with Rice. Best move in football, as Roy Keane likes to say, but Ireland get enough bodies back to deal with it.

90 min There will be another five minutes. Time for England to score their first goal for an hour or so.

89 min Ireland get forward on the right. Their player of the match is announced over the PA: it’s Chiedozie Ogbene, who has been sharp in both halves and two roles, as a winger and wing-back.

87 min Chance for England! Alexander-Arnold is still there and now he sends a majestic ball forward to Saka. England play a few passes and the chance falls to Eze, whose shot from distance goes over the bar.

83 min Kane, helping out in defence, makes a neat turn and gets a kick from McAteer for his trouble. That is Kane’s last involvement as Lee Carsley makes some more changes. John Stones comes on for Harry Maguire and takes the armband too. Jarrod Bowen replaces Kane as the centre-forward.

82 min More subs for Ireland as Evan Ferguson, who’s been out injured since March, comes on for Robbie Brady. With Szmodics, Ogbene and Ferguson, the future’s bright, the future’s green.

79 min England reassert their dominance as Gomes, always on the move, finds Gibbs-White, such an intelligent No 10. Kane and Saka are still out there and it’s lovely to see them click with these new boys.

76 min Subs for England, not before time. Angel Gomes comes on for Kobbie Mainoo, one Man United Wunderkind replacing another. Morgan Gibbs-White gets a debut too, in place of Grealish, who exits, pursued by a boo. And Eberechi Eze takes over from Anthony Gordon on the left.

74 min While England are running out of steam, or ideas, Ireland are looking more purposeful. Hallgrímsson sends on two more subs. One of them is Kasey McAteer of Leicester, who has made the opposite journey to Rice and Grealish across the Irish Sea.

72 min Carsley is leaving his subs late. Time for Angel Gomes or Eberechi Eze, surely.

70 min Rice was hurt as he won that ball, but he’s up and running again now. And England counter sends Gordon away, only for Jason Knight to get back and tidy up.

68 min Chance for England! Rice wins the ball near the D, allowing Saka and Grealish to gang up again on the Irish defence. The chance falls to Gordon, who, not for the first time, does better with his movement that his shot.

65 min A glimmer for Ireland as a long free kick comes in from the right, but a foul hands the initiative back to England. Marc Guehi does well to find Grealish, whose pass to Saka draws another foul and a yellow card for Robbie Brady.

65 min Another Irish name goes into the book as Grealish is fouled by Molumby.

62 min Another chance for Ireland! Again it’s Ogbene leading the way. He does well to keep a long ball from Kelleher in and then carves another opening with his hustle and bustle. Szmodics plays a nice lay-off to Smallbone (iI think), whose shot sails over the bar. But Hallgrímsson’s reshuffle has hmade a difference.

60 min As the hourglass flips over, a good point comes in from Mike Daniels. “Personally,” he says, “I wouldn’t play national anthems at sporting events. Just concentrate on the sport, not nationalism.”

59 min Chance for Ireland! Ogbene, now at wing-back, plays a cute cutback to Szmodics, whose powerful shot goes just wide.

57 min Coleman limps off to warm applause from the massed ranks of green shirts. Another Evertonian, Jake O’Brien, comes on to replace him. Matt Doherty goes off too, giving way to Jason Knight of Bristol City. So both the elderly full-backs have bowed out.

55 min While Coleman gets some attention from the physio, Hallgrímsson gathers the rest of his team for a huddle. “Right guys. Slight change of plan.”

52 min Saka, jinking down the right, wins yet another corner for England. Ireland clear it and then win a free kick as Seamus Coleman goes down, apparently scraped on the Achilles by Maguire. Ouch.

51 min A free kick from TAA homes on the magnificent head of Harry Maguire, but his header across goal doesn’t find a taker.

“I assume,” says Niall Mullen, “the reason that Declan Rice ended up playing for England is that the powers that be found out that he wasn’t really Irish. Speaking like an East End barrow boy and belting out God Save the King, he couldn’t be any less Irish (including being actually good at football).” Oof.

49 min Ireland are running hard, as they did at the start of the first half, but their attacks keep petering out because they haven’t got enough bodies forward. Their game plan has been neither one thing nor the other.

46 min More boos as Rice, on the right, finds Grealish in the centre circle. He passes the parcel to Gordon, who barges into the box and wins a corner. Nothing comes of it again – that’s one facet of England’s game that Carsley has yet to improve.

45 min England’s travelling fans decide to sing God Save The King. The home supporters respond with a boo.

“I’m sure I am not the only England fan,” says Rick Harris, “who was baffled at Southgate’s Euro 2024 refusal to give Anthony Gordon a chance on the left wing. With Foden always cutting inside, we had no left flank threat and were really easy to play against. Gordon has been England’s best player and just shows how blinkered Southgate was.” Halfway through the tournament, I was really hoping Southgate would leave out Foden, who was running down cul-de-sacs. But you can see why he didn’t.

He’s playing a bit better than he did last weekend.

HALF-TIME! Ireland 0-2 England

45 min Just a minute of added time as England play patience at the back.

44 min Ogbene charges down the left, too fast for Mainoo who’s covering for TAA, but the cross is overhit. Szmodics goes in hard on Gordon and gets a yellow card, the first of the game I think.

42 min Ogbene continues to be Ireland’s brightest spark, bustling in from the right wing. But England are finding it easy to clear the ball and a moment later Kane wins a corner for them.

“So,” says Liam Rooney, “England are beating Ireland with goals from two Irish lads playing for an Irish manager. It’s just a blatant copy of what we did in the 80s.” Well, the 80s are all the rage these days.

39 min Save! As Saka curls in a cross, Kelleher does well to beat Kane to the punch.

37 min England have another spell of possession and Rice, making a run from deep to latch onto Alexander-Arnold’s long ball, wins a corner. Nothing comes of it, but England stay in control. This is only the second time they’ve gone two up this year, the other being the 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in June.

33 min Chance for Gordon! Another flowing move from England, orchestrated by Grealish, but again Gordon’s shot is at the keeper. If his shooting was as hot as his pressing, he’d be a superstar.

32 min Better from Ireland, who get forward through the speedy Ogbene, who puts a good cross in. If Ireland manage to score, the goal may well be made in Ipswich.

31 min Heimur? He has a problem. Ireland are parking the bus, playing 5-4-1 when they don’t have the ball, and England are still driving past them.

30 min Grealish was catching the eye with his energy and creativity even before the goal. But he could be Player of the Match here and it might not do him much good. As a No 10, he would still be stuck behind Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden in the queue. (Not to mention Cole Palmer.) And as a No 11, he would still be behind Gordon.

26 min It was a gorgeous team goal – all first-time passes, Rice to Mainoo to Rice to Saka to Rice to Grealish, who finished crisply from 15 yards, And did celebrate. The snakes are indeed back.