September 07, (THEWILL) – England’s Nations League campaign began with a victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. The 2-0 win marked England’s first triumph in the Irish capital in 60 years.
Lee Carsley’s tenure as England manager started well, with two former Ireland players scoring the goals. Declan Rice opened the scoring with a powerful shot, followed by Jack Grealish’s sweeping finish, both in the first half.
The match saw Harry Kane, one cap away from his 100th for England, come close to scoring. However, it was Rice, who had previously played for Ireland, who broke the deadlock after 11 minutes. Grealish, another player who switched allegiance, doubled the lead 15 minutes later.
Ireland improved in the second half but failed to seriously test Jordan Pickford. Bukayo Saka nearly added a third goal in stoppage time, but his effort was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
The win gives England a strong start in the Nations League, with the team looking to build on this performance in future matches.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
