England 5-0 Republic of Ireland: Nations League – as it happened | Nations League

David Hytner was at Wembley for us today. I’ll leave you with his report of a game of two distinct 45-minute segments.

Lee Carsley verdict

It was a good performance. We played with real intent and it was frustrating to come off 0-0 at half-time. I believed we’d score goals if we kept doing what we spoke about and it was great that we got out rewards in the end.

It was a great pass [for the first goal] and a great evening for a lot of the players [who scored their first goals for England]. The main thing was to get promotion and it’s pleasing in that respect.

When [Jarrod Bowen] went on I said to him, ‘Just shoot every time you get the ball!’ He’s got great quality and sometimes he can be a bit unselfish. He’s got to make sure he gets the goals and assists that he deserves.

[What’s the overriding emotion after this campaign?] I suppose it’s relief. I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch, to be attacking, to show what I see day-in day-out on the training ground.

[On picking so many debutants] I don’t think it’s a gamble – these are excellent players with a mentality that stands out. They’ve got a history of winning, especially the under-21 players, and they expect to win when they turn up to play for England.

[What has this stint given you as a coach?] I think it’s given the staff and myself the confidence that we can do the job. That was a big thing – you always doubt yourself and whether you can do it or not.

We often speak about how there’s a lot of England manager sat in their house picking the team and squad. So to have the responsibility to do that – and the trust from my bosses – has given me a massive boost of confidence.

“So,” begins Kári Tulinius, “my son watched his team get comfortably beat by a mid-ranking European side on a cold November evening, with Finland offering little of quality beyond the halftime hot dog and cocoa. He can’t wait to go again.”

The ITV punditsRoy Keane and Ian Wright, are going through the goals and have just got to the fifth by Taylor Harwood-Bellis

Marc Pougatch (presenter) Not everyone knows, that is your future son-in-law.

Roy Keane (deadpan) It’s not done and dusted yet. Listen, things can change very quickly in the Keane household.

Harry Kane’s reaction

It’s been a really good camp – we got the job done. It was a tough first half but we came out for the second half with a lot more energy and we finished it off.

[Is that as good a pass as you’ve hit?] I think so. Yeah it’s probably one of the best. I expected Jude to score but it probably worked out best with them getting a man sent off and us getting a penalty.

[On four players getting their first goal for England] Amazing. We spoke in the week about there being opportunities for new lads and other players who have been in the squad without getting the minutes. There were a couple of great finishes. It was nice for Jarrod to come on and score straight away.

Thomas has got a lot of players to choose from – a lot of young players who have come in and done really well and some experienced boys who are injured, who we want to come back and fight for their place. We’ve got a good balance.

[On Lee Carsley] He’s been top-drawer, him and all the staff as well. It’s never easy to go again straight after a major tournament; sometimes the motivation isn’t as great. But the coaching team showed great energy, brought through some young lads and I’m really glad we won today to finish off happy.

There are no extravagant gestures from Carsley at the final whistlenot that we expected any. He really should have charged onto the field, one finger raised, like Jose at the Nou Camp in 2010. Carsley’s would have even more iconic given he’s wearing a puffer jacket rather than a sharp suit.

Fifty-eight years of hurt have finally come to an end: England have won Group B2 of the Nations League. They overwhelmed ten-man Ireland in the second half, scoring five times in 27 increasingly euphoric minutes. It was all sparked by a stunning pass from Harry Kane, which led to a penalty and a red card for Ireland’s Liam Scales.

90+3 min I got something wrong: Jarrod Bowen’s goal was also his first for England, which means there have been four new goalscorers in this game. According to Opta, that hasn’t happened in an England game since 1930.

90+1 min Three minutes of added time.

90 min Barring any more goals, Lee Carsley’s record as England manager will be P6 W5 D0 L1 F16 A3 Pts 15.

89 min Another save from Kelleher, this time to flap away Bowen’s mishit shot. Ireland break and Gomes is booked for a tactical foul.

88 min Kelleher makes a pretty good save, adjusting his feet to kick away a crisp low shot from Kane.

86 min: Ireland substitution Sammie Szmodics is replaced by Kasey McAteer.

86 min Bellingham’s shot from the edge of the area is blocked, possibly by Kane. There were about 15 players in the penalty area.

85 min A weary O’Shea fouls Rogers and is booked.

84 min This is cruel on Ireland, though there are genuine positives to take in the quality of their performance for the first 50 minutes. One truly magnificent pass from Harry Kane changed everything.

82 min Bald fraud or bald genius? I think we know the answer.

81 min Just before that goal, Angel Gomes came on for Curtis Jones in midfield.

Lee Carsley’s farewell has turned into a feelgood romp. Harwood-Bellis stayed up for a corner and met Bellingham’s fine driven cross with an excellent header back across Kelleher. He’s the third player to score their first England goal in the last 25 minutes.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis scores on his debut!

79 min Collins makes a desperate lunging tackle to stop Solanke, six yards out, putting Bowen’s low cross into the net. For 50 minutes Ireland had their bodies in the oven and their brains in the fridge. Since then the whole lot has been in the oven.

It was a fine free-kick, straight from the training ground. Bellingham took it short, near the corner flag on the left, got it back and slid a crisp low pass towards the penalty spot. Bowen ran round the ball and whipped a first-time shot past the unsighted Kelleher. Excellent goal.

Jarrod Bowen scores with his first touch!

76 min “My first game: New York Cosmos 6-2 Valur (Icelandic champions) in a friendly in Reykjavik in 1981,” writes Alex Moffett. “A hattrick from Giorgio Chinaglia. Me and my dad, wind chill of ten degrees, metal bleachers. Paradise lost.”

No phones either I’ll wager.

75 min: Triple substitution for England Dominic Solanke, Morgan Rogers and Jarrod Bowen replace Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke.

72 min Kane slips his man in the area and is about to score his second when Cullen makes a stealthy interception from the side. Terrific midfield play that.

72 min “Hi Rob,” begins Peter Oh. “That pass from Kane to Bellingham really tipped the Scales.”

Way-hay!

71 min Kane almost gives Madueke a shooting chance with an imaginative scooped pass. It bounces slightly awkwardly and Madueke’s heavy touch puts it behind for a goalkick.

70 min “The Ireland non-penalty highlights the essential (but by no means only) problem with VAR,” says Niall Mullen. “If the on field ref doesn’t give it then we bemoan our bad luck and move on. However, if the accuracy bots don’t give it then we get to cry foul/conspiracy. So on behalf of my nation: FOULSPIRACY!”

I’d like to see you put that to Roy Keane.

68 min Madueke immediately tests Manning with a slippery run into the area. He’s about to shoot when Manning makes a good recovery challenge. Ireland deserve better than to be bammered here. Even the penalty wasn’t really Scales’ fault; he had to make that challenge. The first yellow card, for some off-the-ball posturing with Gallagher (I think) is the one that cost him.