England haunts Ireland as former hopes seal win
Lee Carsley made a winning start to his England tenure with a comfortable 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League, helped by two players who previously represented the host.
Both goals came in the first half, with Declan Rice's powerful finish followed up by Jack Grealish's sweeping effort to hand England its first win in Dublin in more than 60 years.
Jayson Molumby's early chance offered the visitors a warning, but Harry Kane headed over as Carsley's team swiftly took control.
The England captain, now one shy of his 100th Three Lions cap, was denied by Caoimhin Kelleher moments later inside the box after a fast break from an Ireland free-kick.
But England had the lead after 11 minutes.
Having made three senior appearances for Ireland, Rice pledged his international future to the Three Lions in 2019, and it was the Arsenal midfielder who opened the scoring with an emphatic finish into the roof of the net.
Rice turned provider for another who switched his international allegiance, as Grealish rounded off a fine move to double England's advantage 15 minutes later.
Ireland improved after the interval, but rarely came close to truly testing Jordan Pickford.
Bukayo Saka went close to adding further gloss to an impressive display in stoppage-time, only to see his effort repelled by Kelleher with substitute Eberechi Eze firing over on the rebound.
In a game where all the focus was placed on former Ireland international Carsley, it would be two of the Republic's former hopes that stole the headlines in Dublin.
Rice's goal at Aviva Stadium came six years and 97 days after making his only previous appearance there for Ireland against United States in June 2018.
He completed 88 of his 93 passes and ended with an accuracy rate of 94.6 per cent, a total only bettered by Pickford (96.3 per cent) of those that started the game.
Grealish, meanwhile, netted his third goal for England, and his first as a starter. While he was on the pitch, no England player won more fouls (four) or created more chances (two) than him.
"Over the summer, it was one of the worst summers of my life because you can't not see everything that is happening in front of you,” the Manchester City attacker said after the match, referring to being dropped by former cach Gareth Southgate ahead of UEFA Euro 2024.
“It was difficult but it's given me something to bounce back.
"I need to start playing regularly, scoring goals, and that's what I did today. I'm still not 100 per cent fit but I'm getting there so from a personal point of view I'm happy,” he added.
"Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name, listen there's no better feeling than playing for England.
Everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.”
Having previously represented Ireland, Grealish and Rice faced a tough reception in Dublin.
"It was what me and Declan expected. We have nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time [playing for Ireland]," Grealish said.
"I certainly did and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there's no bad blood whatsoever from my side."
