Declan Rice, who was born in London and of Irish origin and played for the club, imposed himself as the star of the match by opening the scoring, refusing to celebrate (11) and passing the ball for the second goal to Jack Grealish (26), who in turn began his career with the Irish national team before deciding to wear the “Three Lions” shirt, but unlike his colleague, he celebrated doubling the score.
England failed to win the European Championship after losing the final 2-1 to Spain, prompting Southgate, who had been in charge for eight years, to step down and be replaced by Under-21 coach Lee Carsley, who took over on an interim basis. The 50-year-old would lead the 1966 world champions for just two matches against Ireland and later Finland at Wembley Stadium in London.
The English Football Association is looking for a new coach to succeed Southgate and prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which start in March 2025.
The two teams met for the first time since 2020, with the numbers in England’s favour, having beaten Ireland 7 times, losing twice and drawing six.
The visitors were without Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins, while Noni Madueke, Morgan Gibbs-White, Tino Livramento and Angel Gomes were given their first international caps.
The good results may allow Carsley to remain at the helm of the technical staff until the end of the Nations League journey, where England will also play Greece in its group, after the Three Lions were relegated to the second level following the poor results in the last edition, where they finished last in their group with three draws.
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