UEFA Nations League B2
Sunday, 17 November
England v Republic of Ireland, Wembley, 5pm
TV/PLAYER
Watch live build-up and coverage of the match on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player from 4pm.
RADIO
Listen to live commentary with Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
WEATHER
It will be partly cloudy in London with occasional sunny spells and light winds. Highs of 10 degrees Celsius which will drop to about 8 degrees by kick-off time.
Table as it stands
Boys in Green's fate is sealed
First things first, whatever happens against England, Heimir Hallgrimsson's side know their ultimate fate in Group B2 of this UEFA Nations League campaign.
Thursday's win over Finland means it's the Nordic nation that are automatically relegated to League C, while Ireland also cannot finish higher than third which ensures that a promotion/relegation play-off awaits against a runner-up from one of the League C groups under the new format brought in for this edition.
The play-offs are scheduled for March and each tie will be played over two legs. As things stood prior to Saturday's round of games, the teams currently occupying second place in League C are Slovakia, Kosovo, Bulgaria and Faroe Islands.
Confidence gained but Ireland still with issues to iron out
Wins had become hard to come by for Ireland but adding another win over Finland at Aviva Stadium to the three points gained in Helsinki last month is a confidence booster.
However, while the Boys in Green kept a clean sheet and Evan Ferguson was back on the scoresheet, the performance was not without its issues.
As Hallgrimsson himself admitted to RTÉ soccer correspondent Tony O'Donoghue, a generous dollop of luck was needed to secure the win given how often Finland became acquainted with the woodwork.
That's also without mentioning Caoimhin Kelleher's penalty save and reaction to the subsequent follow-up.
"I think this game we were a little bit lucky," said the Ireland manager, whose early record now stands at two wins and three defeats.
"Finland two times hit the post so it wasn't all that pretty. At times it was too open for my sake and I think this group probably deserves a little luck. They've been unlucky for a long time."
Ireland's openness stemmed partly from being over-run in midfield as Hallgrimsson named what on paper was a bold 4-4-2 shape which left central midfield Jason Knight and Josh Cullen with a lot of space to cover and bodies to mark. On the ball, as outlined by RTÉ soccer analysts Kevin Doyle and Stephen Kelly on the live TV/Player coverage, the shape would then morph into a 3-4-3 as Callum O'Dowda pushed forward and Matt Doherty tucked back in.
The flip side was that the strike partnership of Ferguson and Sammie Szmodics showed promising signs of blossoming.
As RTÉ soccer columnist Eoin Doyle noted, it wasn't a case of the latter dropping off into pockets behind Ferguson as anticipated but ultimately being the attacker who would run in behind the Finnish rearguard.
"This approach aimed to stretch the Finland defence but naturally left Ireland vulnerable in midfield – a risk that didn't go unnoticed as the game unfolded. Szmodics was lively, his disallowed goal a fine example of the chemistry between the pair," Doyle wrote.
"Ferguson's perfectly weighted through-ball to Szmodics was a clear sign that there is a good balance in their styles of play which accommodate each other well, sadly Szmodics leaned offside just enough for the goal to be disallowed.
"Still, it showcased a style and system that Halgrímsson is clearly eager to cultivate."
Ferguson was a beneficiary of the width Ireland started with, his goal coming when the tricky Mikey Johnston beat his man and lofted in a ball that the Brighton striker gratefully headed home for the fourth senior goal - and first since October 2023 - of his burgeoning international career.
Change of tack for Wembley
Being as open as they were on Thursday would be a recipe for disaster at Wembley given how potent an injury-ravaged England are overwhelmingly likely to be in Lee Carsley's final match in interim charge before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins.
While a Finland side in transition ultimately couldn't exploit the spaces and take their litany of chances in Dublin, the likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and co would not be so generous.
Back in September, Hallgrimsson utilised a back five - a hold-over from the Stephen Kenny era - in the 2-0 defeat to the English but since then a back four has been the bedrock on which he has looked to build his team.
That has largely been with Dara O'Shea at right back, flanking one side of the balanced pairing of Nathan Collins and Liam Scales. Having struggled with a back issue ahead of the Finland game, O'Shea came on as a second-half sub on Thursday but the Ipswich centre-half could well be restored to the starting side to add more defensive nous.
An extra body in midfield would also be a wise course of action to shore up an area of the team that was at times buffeted by the Finnish tide.
Late change to the Ireland squad
There is one change to the squad that faced Finland, with former Under-21 stalwart Conor Coventry drafted in to the midfield mix in place of Jason Knight. Thus the revised squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Liverpool), Mark Travers (Bournemouth), Max O'Leary (Bristol City)
Defenders: Matt Doherty (Wolves), Dara O'Shea (Ipswich Town), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Jake O'Brien (Everton), Mark McGuinness (Luton Town), Liam Scales (Celtic), Callum O’Dowda (Cardiff City)
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (Burnley), Conor Coventry (Charlton Athletic), Jayson Molumby (West Brom), Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough), Andrew Moran (Stoke City, on loan from Brighton), Ryan Manning (Southampton)
Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Brighton), Tom Cannon (Stoke City, on loan from Leicester), Troy Parrott (AZ Alkmaar), Festy Ebosele (Watford, on loan from Udinese), Kasey McAteer (Leicester City), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town), Mikey Johnston (West Brom)
Ireland go up Wembley Way for the eighth time
In 1949, the Republic of Ireland famously became the first non-British nation to beat England on their own patch - but that was at Goodison Park.
The Boys in Green first played at Wembley in a World Cup qualifier back in 1957, losing 5-1. There have been six more trips to the London venue since with three draws and three defeats the outcome - the most recent of which was a 3-0 friendly defeat more notable for the focus on a pre-match motivational video.
As for Irish goalscorers against England on the Wembley turf, they are Dermot Curtis (1957), Gerry Daly (1976), Liam Brady (1985), Niall Quinn (1991) and Shane Long (2013).
Will any of the current crop join the list? We will see on Sunday from 5pm.
Watch England v Republic of Ireland on Sunday from 4pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary with Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
