England 5-0 Republic of Ireland: Carsley signs off with Nations League promotion

By Sports Desk November 17, 2024

Lee Carsley signed off as England's interim manager with an emphatic 5-0 win over 10-man Republic of Ireland that sealed the Three Lions' Nations League promotion.

England took advantage of Liam Scales' sending-off with a ruthless second-half attacking display, with four first-time scorers helping to secure top spot in Group B2 and passage back to League A.

The first half was tight, with few chances for either side after Curtis Jones' early strike was deflected wide before Kyle Walker headed over from the resulting corner.

Yet the floodgates opened with three goals in the space of five minutes after the break.

Scales received a second yellow card for tripping Jude Bellingham in the box, and Harry Kane marked his return to the side by expertly dispatching the penalty.

Anthony Gordon volleyed in his first England goal shortly after, before Conor Gallagher was alert to meet Marc Guehi's flick-on at a corner.

Jarrod Bowen then made an instant impact after his introduction, sweeping a Bellingham corner through the crowd with his first touch of the match.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis rounded things off in the 79th minute, grabbing a debut goal as he thumped a header past Caoimhin Kelleher from six yards out after meeting another Bellingham corner.

Data Debrief: First time for everything

Carsley said on Saturday that he believed he was leaving the England squad in a good place for incoming boss Thomas Tuchel, having widened the pool of young players.

He has certainly done his bit, handing out eight senior debuts in all, with Tino Livramento and Harwood-Bellis the players to benefit against Ireland. 

Meanwhile, in Gordon, Gallagher, Bowen, and Harwood-Bellis, four players have scored their first England goal in the same game for the first time since October 1930 v Northern Ireland, when Harry Burgess, Jimmy Hampson, Sammy Crooks, Eric Houghton were on target.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Kyle Walker made his 38th England appearance at Wembley, overtaking Wayne Rooney's total at the venue (37) – only Peter Shilton (52), Bobby Charlton (44), Bobby Moore (43), and Stuart Pearce (41) have now played there more often for the Three Lions.

Carsley, who has collected the biggest win as an interim England boss since Graham Taylor oversaw a 7-1 victory over San Marino in 1993, started his short reign with a win over Ireland in September, and England have now won three consecutive games against them for the very first time. 

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    Adrien Rabiot believes Sunday's win over Italy showed "the true face of the France team" as they secured top spot in Nations League Group A2.

    The midfielder headed home twice in their 3-1 victory, meeting excellent deliveries from Lucas Digne on both, with his second goal restoring the all-important two-goal cushion that ensured they finished above the Azzurri in the group.

    This comes after France had failed to find a way past Israel in a frustrating 0-0 draw last time out.

    However, Sunday's victory ensured France will be seeded in the quarter-finals draw as they seem to have put their disappointing Euro 2024 campaign, in which they won just twice as they struggled in front of goal, behind them.

    Les Bleus also avenged the 3-1 defeat to Italy on home soil in the reverse fixture, something Rabiot said was playing on their minds while they prepared for their trip to San Siro.

    "It's been a long time since we've played a match like this, that we haven't fought in this way all together, until the end," he told TF1.

    "We also had the objective of winning with a two-goal difference, we did it. But frankly, the mutual aid that there was in this match, the combativeness, the team spirit, it's to be highlighted. Frankly, we enjoyed playing this match.

    "It was a different context [Thursday]. Above all, there was a revenge to be taken compared to the previous match against Italy, who had come to win at home. It's a great evening. I hope we will continue to show this face. It's the true face of the France team."

    Digne officially got two assists in the victory, but he also played a big role in France's other goal – his free-kick rattled the crossbar before bouncing in off the unfortunate Guglielmo Vicario.

    In fact, France scored three goals from set-pieces in a match for the first time since 1991, when they netted three times from dead-ball situations against Albania.

    "[The free-kick is] a technical gesture that is worked on in training. The more you do, the more automatic it becomes, and it pays off," Digne said.

    "Offensively, it's not bad at all. As a defender, I would have preferred to finish with a clean sheet, but we can't have everything. We finished first, it's great.

    "We had a revenge to take from the first leg, we wanted to show a completely different face. And in addition to our slightly worse match against Israel... We really wanted to show that this jersey is close to our hearts. The whole group was present. It was really a complete match."

    France's Nations League quarter-finals will be played in March. 

  • Israel 1-0 Belgium: Shua late show proves decisive Israel 1-0 Belgium: Shua late show proves decisive

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    The Red Devils, who were without a number of key players for the tie in Hungary, were masters of their own downfall as they gifted Israel the winner with four minutes left on the clock.

    In a cagey first half, Eli Dasa breached Belgium's backline 24 minutes in and beat Koen Casteels with a crisp low effort, only to be denied by the foot of the far post.

    Casteels was alert just before the break, getting down low to push Dor Peretz's low drive away from the bottom corner.

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    However, in their rush to find a winner, Belgium were caught playing out from the back. Dor Peretz latched onto Matte Smets' loose backpass, and though he was bundled over in the box, Shua coolly picked out the bottom corner.

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    Data Debrief: Tough times for Tedesco

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    While Belgium struggled in attack, their defensive struggles will also be a worry for Tedesco. They failed to win any of the four games in which they fell behind in the group, earning just one point from a losing position.

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    France secured top spot in Nations League Group A2 as they beat Italy 3-1 thanks in large part to the efforts of Adrien Rabiot and Lucas Digne.

    Rabiot headed home twice at San Siro on Sunday, each time from excellent Digne dead-ball deliveries.

    Digne also played a pivotal role in France's second goal, with his exceptional free-kick clattering the crossbar and bouncing in off the unfortunate Guglielmo Vicario.

    And though Italy hit back through Andrea Cambiaso just two minutes after Vicario's own goal to make it 2-1, they could not find a second wind after Rabiot had restored Les Bleus' two-goal cushion midway through the second half.

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    Data Debrief: Delight for Digne and Rabiot

    Both playing for France for the 50th time, Digne and Rabiot were the stars of the show as Les Bleus gained revenge for their 3-1 defeat to Italy on home soil back in September.

    Rabiot's first goal – a fine header from a brilliant Digne corner – came after just one minute and 59 seconds, marking the earliest goal Italy have conceded in a home match since Opta began recording such data in 2008. It was also France's fastest goal in an away match since a Patrick Battiston effort in a 4-0 win over Luxembourg in October 1984.

    France scored three goals from set-pieces in a match for the first time since 1991, when they netted three times from dead-ball situations against Albania.

    Les Bleus have now won each of their last three away matches against Italy, more than in their first 14.

    Italy may feel hard done by given they had more shots (10 to six) and accumulated a higher expected goals figure (0.7 xG to 0.4), but France's deadly double act of Digne and Rabiot were worthy matchwinners.

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