England vs Republic of Ireland: A winner after 32 years of draws?
England host the Republic of Ireland in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday as both sides look to secure a victory for the first time in the fixture since the 1980s.
After a build-up plagued by injuries and off-the-field headlines, the focus turns to matters on the pitch as Gareth Southgate’s side hope for a morale-boosting victory as they prepare for Sunday’s Nations League showdown with leaders Belgium.
Republic of Ireland have filled in for original opponents New Zealand, who were forced to withdraw from the fixture due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the amended friendly presents boss Stephen Kenny with the opportunity to claim his first victory since taking charge.
It’s been more than three decades since Ireland last beat England. Only one member – goalkeeper Darren Randolph – of the current Republic of Ireland squad was alive when Ray Houghton headed Ireland to a famous victory over Sir Bobby Robson’s England in Stuttgart in the group stages of Euro 88.
All five subsequent meetings have ended level, with England winless in the fixture since 1985. It’s a sign of the potential over-familiarity interwoven throughout English and Irish camps, with only two of Kenny’s 25-man squad not currently plying their trade in the English leagues.
Familiar faces
As galling as it is for the match to be forced behind closed doors, it might be a relief for some of England’s players.
Michael Keane played in the Irish youth set-up before switching over to his country of birth, while Jack Grealish created rancour in 2015 when turning down a call-up to the Republic senior side having represented the country up to U21 level.
Both could feature for the Three Lions at an empty Wembley, where Declan Rice will face a country he represented at senior level on three occasions before announcing his intention to switch in February 2019.
Team news
Seventeen-year-old Jude Bellingham could become England’s third-youngest player if he features against the Republic of Ireland, with Three Lions boss Southgate refusing to rule him playing a part out.
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez has returned to Liverpool to learn the extent of his potentially serious knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the England squad.
Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope is expected to start in place of England regular Jordan Pickford.
Republic of Ireland will be without Aaron Connolly for Thursday friendly against England.
The 20-year-old Brighton striker, who missed last month’s Euro 2020 play-off semi-final because of a false positive Covid-19 test, has been ruled out of the game at Wembley and the Nations League fixtures against Wales and Bulgaria by an injury suffered in training on Tuesday.
Ireland will also be without West Brom striker Callum Robinson after it was revealed he was the who returned a positive coronavirus test.
Pick your England XI vs Rep or Ireland
But would Bellingham make your line-up? Would Jack Grealish get another start? And who should be England’s No 1? Have your say in our team selector below…
How to follow: England vs Rep of Ireland
You can follow England vs Republic of Ireland with on Sky Sports’ digital platforms with our dedicated live blog and match commentary. Full-time highlights will be available 15 minutes after the full-time whistle.
Jones Knows prediction
Memories are very short when it comes to managers at the top level. There isn’t much wriggle room for Gareth Southgate over the next few fixtures after the Denmark defeat.
Despite beating Belgium recently, is he really getting the best out of an outstanding crop of English talent? He could do with reminding a few naysayers that he is the man for the job over the next week. That’s why I’d be surprised if he experiments too much in key areas for this friendly.
England are the 1/3 favourites with Sky Bet to win at Wembley, while the Republic of Ireland are at 17/2 and the draw 15/4.
Those prices look about right to me as I’d be in no rush to take on England, mostly due to Ireland’s lack of goal threat. They have scored just twice in their last eight competitive fixtures and the retirement of David McGoldrick doesn’t help in that regard.
Meanwhile, England are unbeaten in their last nine friendly games (W6 D3) since a 3-2 defeat against France in June 2017, conceding just two goals in those nine games. An England win to nil looks the obvious but solid play.
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