Head to head
A look back at some of our previous encounters with the Republic of Ireland from down the years
Preview
Our first encounter...
Republic of Ireland 0-1 England
30 September 1946
Game 228
While games with Ireland had been played since our first meeting in February 1882, a 13-0 win for England, it was Walter Winterbottom who oversaw our first ever meeting with the Republic of Ireland since the country was split when a Three Lions team secured a narrow win at Dalymount Park in Dublin.
He selected a line-up including the likes of Billy Wright, Tommy Lawton and Frank Swift for the game which was played in front of almost 32,000 fans.
And England had to wait a while to find their winner, with the great Finney popping up in the 82nd minute to clinch the victory.
Our last meeting...
Republic of Ireland 0-0 England
7 June 2015
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Game 943
In what was an end-of-season international in the summer of 2015, England made their first appearance at the newly-built Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Roy Hodgson's squad were building towards UEFA EURO 2016 the following year and the game was perhaps most memorable for seeing the debut of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy (below) as a second-half substitute after an impressive first campaign in the Premier League with the Foxes.
Last time at Wembley...
England 1-1 Republic of Ireland
29 May 2013
Wembley Stadium
Game 919
It was England's penultimate game of the 2012-13 season, which had seen a number of games against the 'Home Nations' as part of the FA's 150th anniversary celebrations, when Giovanni Trapattoni brought his squad to north London.
And they took at early lead through Shane Long's 13th minute goal, which was cancelled out shortly afterwards by a Frank Lampard strike.
You can watch highlights of that game at the top of the screen.
The classic match...
England 2-0 Republic of Ireland
6 February 1980
Wembley Stadium
Game 537
The nations met in a UEFA EURO qualifier back in 1980 when a Kevin Keegan brace was enough to seal the points for Ron Greenwood's side.
Over 90,000 fans crammed into Wembley to see the game which featured a host of stars from England's top flight in both teams.
Keegan captained the Three Lions, with Bryan Robson making his debut and the likes of Laurie Cunningham (pictured above, running at Ireland's Ashley Grimes), Kenny Sansom and Ray Clemence in the team.
Meanwhile, Ireland's team featured the likes of skipper Liam Brady, Steve Heighay, Mark Lawrenson, David O'Leary and Frank Stapleton.
EURO 2020 Qualifying head-to-head
Three Lions back on track
England enjoy victory over Republic of Ireland ahead of November's Nations League finale
By Peter White
England returned to winning ways in impressive style with a 3-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley.
After being defeated by Denmark last time out, the home side were forced to endure an early spell of Irish pressure before Harry Maguire headed his second international goal, and Jadon Sancho made it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark.
With the momentum in their favour, England added to their lead ten minutes after the break through a powerful Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty, and could have had more on what proved to be a comfortable night.
Having secured their first win over the Boys in Green for 35 years, Gareth Southgate’s side now face a UEFA Nations League double-header against Belgium and Iceland.
Following a moment of applause to remember ex-England players Nobby Stiles, Terry Waiters and Albert Quixall, the hosts started brightly with Jack Grealish and Calvert-Lewin stretching the Irish defence.
Tyrone Mings had a great chance to put England ahead in the early stages when Sancho cleverly flicked Mason Mount’s corner to the back post, but Callum O'Dowda did just enough to put the Aston Villa defender off.
The visitors went straight up the other end, though, and Daryl Horgan came close to picking out O'Dowda in the home penalty area, only for Reece James to cover well from the wing-back position and quell the threat.
John Egan was forced off with injury after less than quarter-of-an-hour, but Ireland continued to push forward and youngster Adam Idah got behind the England backline, forcing Mings into another clearance.
But the Three Lions responded to the pressure in perfect style, Harry Winks picking up the loose ball from another Mount corner and finding skipper Maguire at the back post, who beat Shane Duffy in the air and nestled the ball into the back of the net.
Calvert-Lewin looked to get in on the act at the near post after neat link-up play from Grealish and James in the 26th minute, before Darren Randolph had to be alert to deny Maguire a second from the resulting corner.
And the hosts deservedly doubled their advantage just moments later, with Grealish finding an unmarked Sancho who worked his way into the box before firing into the bottom corner for his first England goal in over a year.
Cyrus Christie was on hand to make a smart block as Sancho went in search of another, with Southgate’s charges remaining firmly on top before referee Carlos del Cerro Grande called a halt to the first half.
Grealish burst out of the blocks in the second period and saw a curling shot drift marginally wide of Randolph’s goal just seconds after the restart, before Bukayo Saka hit the side netting from close range three minutes later.
The Arsenal man continued to torment the Ireland defence and soon won a penalty after he was felled by Christie in the box, and Calvert-Lewin duly etched his name on the scoresheet with an emphatic strike into the top corner.
Ireland produced their first effort on target in the 72nd minute when Alan Browne looked to catch debutant goalkeeper Dean Henderson off balance, but England remained in control and brought on 17-year-old Jude Bellingham for his first senior appearance.
Substitute Tammy Abraham had a couple of half-chances to add further gloss to the scoreline, but England calmly saw out the win, marking an ideal warm-up for their return to competitive action.
England (3-4-3): 1 Nick Pope (Burnley) 4 Michael Keane (Everton), 5 Harry Maguire (Manchester United) (C), 6 Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), 2 Reece James (Chelsea), 7 Mason Mount (Chelsea), 8 Harry Winks (Tottenham Hotspur), 3 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), 10 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), 9 Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), 11 Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Substitutes: 13 Dean Henderson (Manchester United) for Pope 46’, 18 Phil Foden (Manchester City) for Grealish 61’, 16 Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal) for Mings 61’, 15 Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) for Calvert-Lewin 63’, 17 Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) for Mount 73’
Substitutes not used: 14 Declan Rice (West Ham United), 19 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), 20 Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), 21 Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), 22 Jordan Pickford (Everton), 23 Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
