By Canadian Press

New England era off to winning start as Rice and Grealish come back to haunt Ireland

Sep 7, 2024 | 2:04 PM

After the pain of the European Championship, England kicked off a new era by beating Ireland 2-0 in Dublin on Saturday.

Some 55 days since the defeat to Spain in the Euros final, England began the UEFA Nations League under a new regime following the departure of Gareth Southgate. Interim coach Lee Carsley made an impressive start at Aviva Stadium after first half goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish.

The identity of those scorers would have been especially painful for the Irish fans who jeered Rice and Grealish for their decision to play for England after representing Ireland.

Carsley, who has stepped up from coaching England’s European champion under-21s, also represented Ireland as a player.

“We’ve shown that we’ve got real talent. We can be really pleased with the clean sheet as well,” he said.

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Rice, who made three appearances for Ireland, fired England ahead in the 11th minute. Grealish represented Ireland at youth level up to the U21s and doubled the lead at the end of a slick passing move.

Grealish was a surprise omission from Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.

“There’s no better feeling than playing for England, especially in games like this,” the winger said. “Honestly, it was probably one of the worst summers of my life because you can’t not see everything that’s happening in front of you.”

New Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson hoped to cause another upset against England after he was co-manager for Iceland’s victory over the Three Lions at Euro 2016. But even though England failed to build on its first half superiority after the break, it was a routine win for Carsley’s first game in charge.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

James Robson, The Associated Press