When is it on?
The Republic of Ireland will play England in their first game of the Nations League in League B, Group 2. The game kicks off at 5pm on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
How can I watch it?
You can watch the game on RTÉ2; prematch build-up begins from 4pm. You can also watch the game on the RTÉ Player while, in the UK, the game will be televised on ITV1.
What is the team news for the game?
Brighton’s Evan Ferguson is back in the Ireland squad, despite not having played any football for the past five months, and is progressing well to match fitness in training. Leicester’s Kasey McAteer also makes the squad for the first time after receiving Fifa clearance. Gavin Bazunu, Josh Cullen and Mikey Johnston all miss out with various injuries.
Goalkeepers: Caoimhín Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (AFC Bournemouth), Max O’Leary (Bristol City).
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Defenders: Séamus Coleman (Everton), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Liam Scales (Celtic), Callum O’Dowda (Cardiff City), Robbie Brady (Preston North End).
Midfielders: Will Smallbone (Southampton), Jayson Molumby (West Bromwich Albion), Alan Browne (Sunderland), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Kasey McAteer (Leicester City).
Forwards: Adam Idah (Celtic), Evan Ferguson (Brighton and Hove Albion), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town), Callum Robinson (Cardiff City), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar).
Lee Carsley pulled a few surprises with his first squad as England interim manager, with Angel Gomes, Noni Madueke, Tino Livramento and Morgan Gibbs-White named. Kyle Walker, first-choice right-back under Gareth Southgate, was not selected. Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire are back in the squad after missing Euro 2024, while Jude Bellingham misses the game through injury, while Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins withdrew from the squad.
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle United).
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Conor Gallagher (Atlético Madrid), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal).
Forwards; Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).
What to watch out for?
A match between Ireland and England never needs much of an introduction, but the main interest from an Irish perspective will be that it is Heimir Hallgrímsson’s first game in charge. What a game to come in for as well, against the Euro 2024 finalists and old rivals England. How the Icelandic man will set up the team will be of interest. He was joint manager of Iceland when they pulled off their greatest victory, a 2-1 defeat of England in the last 16 of Euro 2016. There is interest also, of course, in how Carsley does in his first assignment as England manager. Carsley won 40 caps for Ireland between 1997 and 2008, was heavily linked to the Irish gig before Hallgrímsson and was approached by the FAI at an early stage in the job search.
Do we have any chance?
Ireland have only beaten England twice in their history, in a friendly in September 1949 and most famously in Euro 88 when Joxer went to Stuttgart and Ray Houghton got the ball and stuck it in the net. But they have drawn nine out of 17 times against England, including six times in a row from 1990 to 2015, a streak that was broken in their most recent game, when they were outclassed 3-0 in 2020.
There is no doubt that England have far better players at their disposal than the Irish side, littered with top players in the Premier League and Bayern Munich’s star striker Harry Kane up front. However, with a new manager at the helm and a possible hangover from Euro 2024, Hallgrímsson would happily take another low-scoring draw against England in his first game.
How does the Nations League work?
Ireland are in League B2 with England, Greece and Finland. Nations League B is divided into four groups of four. Each team will play six matches within their group, home-and-away round robin. The winner of the group will be promoted to League A and the fourth-place team will be relegated to League C.
The second-placed and third-placed teams will take part in promotion/relegation play-offs over two legs. Every game matters further down the line too, with participation in the 2026 World Cup play-offs, should Ireland fail to top their group then, dependent on their overall ranking from this Nations League campaign.
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