England vs Republic of Ireland: a winner after 32 years of draws? | Football news

England host the Republic of Ireland in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday as both teams look to secure a victory for the first time in the match since the 1980s.

After an injury-plagued build-up and headlines off the field, the focus is on matters on the field as Gareth Southgate’s team look forward to a morale-boosting victory as they prepare for the United Nations League showdown. Sunday with Belgium leaders.

The Republic of Ireland has replaced the original opponents New Zealand, who were forced to withdraw from the match due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the amended friendly presents boss Stephen Kenny with the opportunity to claim his first victory since taking office.

It has been more than three decades since Ireland last beat England. Only one member, goalkeeper Darren Randolph, of the current Republic of Ireland national team was alive when Ray Houghton led Ireland to a famous victory over Sir Bobby Robson’s England in Stuttgart in the group stage of Euro 88.

The five subsequent encounters have ended tied, with England winless in the match since 1985. It is a sign of the possible over-familiarity woven into English and Irish camps, with only two of Kenny’s 25 men not practicing their trade in English. suspenders.

Familiar faces

As irritating as it is that the match is forced behind closed doors, it could be a relief for some of England’s players.

Michael Keane played for the Irish youth national team before moving to his country of birth, while Jack Grealish generated a grudge in 2015 when he turned down a call-up to the senior Republic team that had represented the country up to the U21 level.

Both could appear for the Three Lions at an empty Wembley, where Declan Rice will face a country he represented at the senior level three times 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 comes out against the Republic of Ireland, with Three Lions boss Southgate refusing to rule him out playing a role.

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez returned to Liverpool to learn the extent of his potentially serious knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the England team.

Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope is expected to start in place of England regular Jordan Pickford.

Republic of Ireland he will be without Aaron Connolly for Thursday’s friendly against England.

The 20-year-old Brighton striker, who missed the Euro 2020 play-off semifinal last month due to a false positive for Covid-19, has been ruled out of the Wembley match and League matches. of the Nations against Wales and Bulgaria due to an injury sustained in training on Tuesday.

Ireland will also be without West Brom forward Callum Robinson after it was revealed that he was the one who tested positive for coronavirus.

Choose your England XI vs Rep or Ireland

But would Bellingham make your lineup? Would Jack Grealish have another start? And who should be number one in England? Give us your opinion in our selector of equipment below …

How to follow: England vs Republic of Ireland

You can follow England vs Republic of Ireland with the 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 the prediction

Memory is very short when it comes to senior managers. There is not much room for maneuver for Gareth Southgate in the next matches after Denmark’s defeat.

Despite beating Belgium recently, are you really getting the best of a remarkable crop of English talent? He would do well to remind some naysayers that he’s the right man for the job for the next week. So I would be surprised if you experiment too much in key areas for this friend.

England are a third favorite with Sky Bet to win at Wembley, while the Republic of Ireland is at 17/2 and the tie at 15/4.

Those prices seem right to me as I would not be in a rush to face England, mainly due to the lack of goal threat from Ireland. They have scored only twice in their last eight competitive games and David McGoldrick’s retirement doesn’t help in that regard.

Meanwhile, England are unbeaten in their last nine friendly matches (six wins and three draws) since a 3-2 loss to France in June 2017, conceding just two goals in those nine matches. An England win to zero seems like an obvious but solid play.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTIONS: 2-0 (7/1 with Sky Bet)

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• England and the Republic of Ireland last met in June 2015 in a friendly at Aviva Stadium, drawing 0-0. At Wembley, their last meeting was in May 2013 in a friendly, sharing a 1-1 draw.
• The Republic of Ireland has never beaten England at Wembley, playing there six times without success (3 draws and 3 draws).
• England are winless in seven games against the Republic of Ireland (D5 L2), their current joint worst winless streak against an opponent, and the Three Lions are also seven winless against Romania.
• The Republic of Ireland’s only away win against England came in September 1949, winning 2-1 at Goodison Park in a friendly with goals from Con Martin and Peter Farrell.
• England are undefeated in their last 12 friendly matches at home (eight wins and four draws) since losing 1-2 against the Netherlands at Wembley in March 2016 with Roy Hodgson.
• England are looking to avoid losing consecutive games for the second time to Gareth Southgate, losing three in a row in September 2018.
• Stephen Kenny has yet to win a match as Ireland manager in five attempts (D3 L2) – the only manager who failed to win any of his first six matches as Ireland manager was Mick McCarthy in 1996 (first seven).
• This match will be Harry Kane’s 50th game for England; Kane will be the 62nd player to reach that milestone, with his 32 goals second only to Jimmy Greaves (43) in his first 50 games for England. He will be the first outfield player to win his first 50 games for the same club since John Terry won his first 50 with Chelsea, and the first player to win 50 games for England at Tottenham, with his current level of 49 with Jermain Defoe. .