Harry Kane produced one of the best passes of his career to spark an England bloodbath against Ireland, sending the Three Lions back to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League in style with a bruising 5-0 win on Sunday.
England had no shots on target in a dire first half and were a tad fortunate not to concede a penalty for a shirt pull by Marc Guehi on Evan Ferguson. The visitors also had a half-hearted appeal when Kyle Walker collided with Sammie Szmodics, and England trudged off for half-time with their automatic promotion hopes hanging in the balance, at the mercy of Greece’s scoreline with Finland.
After the break, however, everything fell into place in a whirlwind five minutes: Kane’s gorgeous pass released Jude Bellingham and he was tripped by Liam Scales, who was sent off in the process for a second yellow card. The captain coolly slotted his penalty, and less than two minutes later, Anthony Gordon volleyed home following a corner. Conor Gallagher then bundled in the third after jumping ahead of Bellingham in the queue to meet a knockdown.
Substitutes Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis added extra shine to a satisfying win by scoring their first international goals late on.
GOAL rates England’s players from Wembley Stadium…