Carsley signs off with a big win: Five things we learned from England 5-0 Republic of Ireland

England scored five in the second half as Lee Carsley ended his interim time in charge with a 5-0 win over ten men Republic of Ireland.

Second half goals from Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis sent England back into the top tier of the Nations League after a goalless first 45 minutees.

Here are five things we learnt from the match…

Success night for Newcastle trio

Lee Carsley made the bold decision to give Newcastle duo Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento their first England starts, with it being the latter’s debut. Club teammate Anthony Gordon also start for the Three Lions, with the trio all impressing after slow starts. Hall looked assured at left back, whilst Livramento grew into the match. After a poor first half showing, Gordon started to look dangerous, scoring England’s second of the night.

Kane and Bellingham drive England to victory

Up until Ireland’s red card and their subsequent second half collapse, England were struggling to break down their ultra defensive system. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham were suffering the most, with the Three Lions captain dropping as far back as defence to receive the ball. Then the shackles were loosened in the second period, Kane’s delightful pass to Bellingham led to an England penalty, and from there on it was smooth sailing.

England return to League A

After a season away, England are back in the Nations League Group A. After what many saw as a humiliating relegation, the Three Lions showed their class to brush Ireland aside and send them back to where many think they should be. Their promotion will now be favourable towards their World Cup qualification campaign, with a fallback of a playoff spot were they to muck up qualification badly.

Ireland’s game plan falls through with second half collapse

Heimir Hallgrímsson said in his prematch press conference that Ireland were going to make it hard for England, and in that first half, they did exactly that. However, after Liam Scales was shown a second yellow card six minutes into the second period, the Boys in Green’s plan was torn to shreds and they crumbled. Three goals in six minutes put the game to bed, before a further two were added by the end. What was looking like a positive evening turned into a horror show for the visitors.

Carsley’s work won’t be forgotten

Lee Carsley’s time as England interim head coach comes to an end, but his work will not forgotten. His period in charge was always viewed as a transitional phase between the departing Gareth Southgate and whoever the next permanent manager would be (now confirmed as Thomas Tuchel). The former Everton midfielder has bedded in plenty of new faces into the England pool of talent, all of whom played without fear.