A second-half blitz saw England get past the 10-man Republic of Ireland 5-0 at Wembley and gain promotion back to League A of the Nations League in Lee Carsley's final game as interim manager.
Three goals in just six minutes early in the second half from Harry Kane – via a penalty in an incident that saw Irish defender Liam Scales sent off after a second warning – followed by first-time goals from Anthony Gordon and Conor Gallagher blew the visitors.
Jarrod Bowen soon added a fourth with his first touch after coming on as a substitute, before Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed home a fifth as a third player came off target for the Three Lions.
How the British blitz in the second half blew away the Republic
Ireland had initially done an excellent job of largely frustrating England in a spirited first half that ended with Carsley's side holding the ball at 75 percent, but without testing the visiting goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
So much so that tempers in England boiled on the stroke of half-time as Kane and Jayson Molumby faced off, with both players shown yellow cards, while Heimir Halgrimsson's team deservedly leveled at the break.
Things could possibly have ended even better for Ireland, who were already assured of third place in the group, if two criminal cases had gone their way. However, Belgian referee Erik Lambrechts waved away both appeals and those incidents were quickly forgotten as England finally broke through eight minutes after the break.
Kane's perfect, raking pass across the pitch found Jude Bellingham in space in the box, with Scales only able to bring the midfielder down with his back leg as he cut inside to shoot. The Celtic defenders earned a second yellow card for his troubles – his first was delaying a restart – and Kane easily sent Kelleher the wrong way from the spot for his 69th international goal.
Minutes later, England doubled their lead after a mix-up in the visitors' defense allowed Tino Livramento to center for Gordon to strike home in style at the back post, before Gallagher tapped in after Marc Guehi had nodded in Noni Madueke's corner.
Tough for Ireland, the goals kept coming in the final quarter of an hour as Bowen headed home with his touch after following a cleverly worked corer routine, before fellow substitute Harwood-Bellis rose well to guide Angel Gomes' cross. back past a helpless Kelleher.
As a result, Carsley – described by Kane after the match as “top class” – achieved the target set for him by the Football Association when he took temporary charge of the team in August by guiding them back to League A of the Nations League.
Carsley: People have seen me attacking England
England boss Lee Carsley to ITV:
“I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch, attacking. I see them day in day out on the training pitch and now people have seen it.
“It has given the staff and myself confidence that we can do the job. You always doubt yourself whether you could do it or not.
“There are a lot of English managers in-house who pick the team, and having the responsibility to do that and the trust of my bosses has been a huge confidence booster.
“I think it was a good performance. The way we started the game, we played with real intentions and it was frustrating to end 0-0 at half time, but I believed we would score goals if we just were going to continue what we talked about. It was great that we finally got our reward.
“It was a great night for a lot of players. The most important thing was to get promoted, which is what we set out to do, so it was nice in that respect.”
Hallgrimsson 'lost for words' due to 'embarrassing' defeat
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson:
“I'm at a loss for words. Six minutes of madness. It was a shock, getting a penalty, conceding a goal, losing a player. We lost our heads at that moment, which led to the second and third goals.
“It's easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize. After the first half it's a match we wanted. We defended compactly, they didn't find a way to play through us.”
“Giving in so early in the second half, losing one player and conceding two more, it's easy to criticize. It's normal, but excuses when you lose 5-0 are pathetic. It's embarrassing.”
Keane: The young players have to keep their feet on the ground, there are pitfalls ahead
Roy Keane on ITV:
“If you listen to anything from him [Thomas Tuchel] media stuff, I think that suits him. I think he likes the idea of maybe going for a few years and that's his goal: knockout football. I think it suits his personality.
“England have some brilliant, talented players. His job is to try and put it all together. But the next World Cup will be different because of the conditions and the heat.”
“For many of these brilliant young players, they have to keep their feet on the ground. There are pitfalls ahead for some of them, but if they have good people around them, stay grounded and keep working hard, they will make an impact. at the World Cup.”
What's next?
England turns its attention to the World Cup qualifying draw on December 13.
All eight Nations League quarter-finalists are in Pot 1 of the World Cup draw, which is supplemented by the four countries with the best FIFA world rankings.
England and Belgium are guaranteed a Pot 1 slot as they are ranked fourth and sixth in the world respectively. As it stands now, Switzerland and Austria will take the other two Pot 1 spots.
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