England v Ireland LIVE: Nations League result as Taylor Harwood-Bellis scores on debut in thrashing
England 5-0 Ireland: Four players scored their first international goal - including debutant Harwood-Bellis - as the Three Lions returned to the top tier of the Nations League
England secured promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League with a 5-0 thashing of 10-man Republic of Ireland in interim manager Lee Carsley’s last game in charge at Wembley.
After a turgid first half, Harry Kane’s penalty, Anthony Gordon’s volley and a tap-in by Conor Gallagher in the space of five minutes at the start of the second broke Ireland’s resolve.
Jarrod Bowen made it 4-0 with a crisp shot from the edge of the area, his first touch after coming off the bench, before debutant Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed England’s fifth.
Ireland played virtually the whole of the second half with 10 men after Liam Scales was sent off for a foul on Jude Bellingham that resulted in England’s penalty.
Carsley: “I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch and be attacking"
Speaking to ITV, Lee Carsley says that “it was a good performance”.
‘I thought the way we started the game was good and we played with real intensity. It was frustrating to come off 0-0 at half-time but I had the belief that we would score the goals.
“It was a great evening for a lot of players and the main thing was getting promotion. That was the main thing we said we wanted to do so that was pleasing.”
“I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch and be attacking. I see them day in day out on the training ground and now we’ve seen it.
“I can only do what I was in control of. It’s not a gamble with some of these players, they are excellent players, they want to overcome anything in front of them and at the under-21s they have had an expectation of winning.
“It [his spell in charge] has given myself and the staff the confidence that we can do the job. You always doubt whether you can do the job, and there’s a lot of people in their homes picking the squad and picking the team.
“The trust from my bosses has been a massive boost of confidence.”
Kane: “It’s been a really good camp"
Harry Kane tells ITV that today’s result was “really important” for England.
“It has been a really good camp and two tough games. We got the job done in Greece and again here.
“It was a tough first half but we came out with more energy and we finished it off.
“We spoke about new opportunities for new lads and they’ve shown why they are here and a couple of good finishes. It was nice for Jarrod [Bowen] too to come on and score straight away.
“Thomas [Tuchel] has a lot of players to choose from. A lot of young players that have come in and done well and some more experienced players that are injured and will be looking to come back, so there’s a good balance.
I’m sure he [Tuchel] will be looking at everyone.”
On Lee Carsley’s impact as interim boss, Kane adds: “He has been top drawer, him and all the staff. After the Euros it was never going to be easy to come and go straight into the Nations League and sometimes the motivation is a bit less.
“I’m really glad we won today and finish off on a high.”
FULL-TIME! - England 5-0 Ireland
That result means England win their group and get automatically promoted to the ‘A’ leagues. They’ve avoided a play-off in March, too.
The next time we see the Three Lions, it’ll be with Thomas Tuchel in charge.
FULL-TIME! - England 5-0 Ireland
FULL-TIME! - England 5-0 Ireland
The referee brings the game to an end and England are promoted back to the ‘A’ leagues in the Nations League.
It wasn’t pretty in the first half but some brilliance from Kane and Bellingham – as well as a red card for Ireland – unlocked the door to an easy win.
91’ - England 5-0 Ireland
England win a corner and it’s played short to Gomes, who lays it off to Bowen, and the winger drives a shot wide from distance.
90’ - England 5-0 Ireland
There’ll be three minutes of added time here, as an Ireland pass goes straight out of play.
88’ - England 5-0 Ireland
Another great chance for England as Rogers takes down the pass and skips past his man in the same touch, before his cutback finds Bowen, who fires straight at Kelleher.
Gomes is booked for a simple foul too.
87’ - England 5-0 Ireland
Ireland make another change as Szmodics comes off for Kasey McAteer.
Bowen and Livramento almost combine to great a tap-in chance for Kane, but the West Ham man had handled it in the build-up.
Moments later, Kane finds himself 1-v-1 with Kelleher, under a little pressure from Collins, and he fires straight at the Liverpool ‘keeper.
85’ - England 5-0 Ireland
Rogers does brilliantly down the left and wins a free-kick from O’Shea, in a similar position to the one that led to Bowen’s goal...
This one is also played short, but it ends with Bellingham firing into a sea of shirts in the box.
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