Player ratings: How Ireland and England performed in Nations League opener

Lee Carsley's side enjoyed a routine win in Dublin.

Ireland's Chiedozie Ogbene and Levi Colwill of England. Pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Ireland 

Caoimhin Kelleher Powerless to keep out either goal but did make a decent couple of saves to deny Harry Kane in the first half and another solid stop to deny Jarrod Bowen in the final stages. Minor questions around his distribution. 6 

Matt Doherty Needed to offer more protection and made little progress going forward. Hooked with less than an hour on the clock. Hard to remember an exchange of note. 5 

Seamus Coleman Concerning to see him hobbling away after being tackled by Harry Maguire early in the second period. Under pressure twice inside seven minutes up against Anthony Gordon but made a good block to deny Kane approaching the interval. 5 

Dara O’Shea Had a grand total of five touches in a dire collective first half when he might as well have been sitting on the sidelines. More involved in a marginally improved showing after the break. 5 

Nathan Collins Anonymous until the 43rd minute when he played a diagonal pass to kickstart a rare counterattack but looked a touch more progressive when result was already decided. 5 

Robbie Brady Registered an attempt off target but gave away possession as many times as he found a man in green. 5 Will Smallbone Desperately quiet evening summed up by the fact he had just a meagre 18 touches in 75 minutes. Unable to provide much from a couple of set pieces. 5 

Jayson Molumby Displayed his frustrations after winning a 50/50 with Marc Guehi only to then lose the ball with his next touch. Had a half-chance during Ireland’s only spell on the front foot midway through the second half. Booked. 5 

Chiedozie Ogbene Not the highest bar but the Corkman was Ireland’s most regular threat, embarking on a couple of threatening dribbles while twice finding Szmodics with smart centres. 7 

Sammie Szmodics Enjoyed Ireland’s best early opportunity with a mid-range shot well saved by Jordan Pickford and also fired narrowly wide with a first-time effort approaching the hour. Booked in the first half. 6 

Adam Idah Poor connection when trying to meet an Ogbene cross half an hour in and departed with 15 minutes to play without another sniff at goal. 5 

Substitutes 

Jake O’Brien (Coleman 58) Booked. Rarely on the ball. 5 

Jason Knight (Doherty 58) Offered improved balance in midfield. 5 

Alan Browne (Smallbone 75) Not on long enough to be rated.

Kasey McAteer (Idah 75) Not on long enough to be rated.

Evan Ferguson (Brady 82) Not on long enough to be rated.

Not used: Mark Travers, Max O’Leary, Callum O’Dowda, Andrew Omobamidele, Liam Scales, Callum Robinson, Troy Parrott.

England 

Jordan Pickford The Everton goalkeeper made one save to deny Szmodics early on but could have had a nap after that. 6 

Trent Alexander-Arnold Drifted into midfield from early on but clearly stationed at right back when out of possession. Produced a couple of dangerous crosses and set-piece deliveries. 7 Harry Maguire Only piece of action worth noting was his clumsy tackle that forced Coleman off. Hardly rust busting when there was so little defending to be done. 6 

Marc Guehi Shook off injury concern after a hefty but fair challenge with Jayson Molumby. He was OK to continue after some brief attention. 6 Levi Colwill Nutmegged in the first half but comfortable aside from that. Far less creative than Alexander-Arnold on the other side - to the surprise of no one. 6 

Kobbie Mainoo Nasty challenge on Ogbene punished with a yellow card. Showed some nice touches and one fantastic turn in the first half. 6

Declan Rice Every touch booed early on but hard to believe he wasn’t celebrating deep down when he struck the opener past Kelleher. The jeers also died down as the evening progressed. 7 

Bukayo Saka Not the most prominent England performer but had a role to play in the build-up to the second goal. 6 

Jack Grealish Played with freedom in the No10 role and at the end of a sublime move to make it 2-0. Notably had no bones about celebrating in front of the away fans. 8 

Anthony Gordon Set the tone with a couple of dangerous runs and caused nightmares for a number of Ireland players. Impressive outing. 7

Harry Kane Early header narroowly over and brought a couple of good saves out of Kelleher but his 99th England gap ended without a goal. 6

Substitutes 

Morgan Gibbs-White(Grealish 76) Not on long enough to be rated.

Eberechi Eze (Gordon 76) Not on long enough to be rated.

Angel Gomes(Mainoo 76) Not on long enough to be rated.

Jarrod Bowen (Kane 82) Not on long enough to be rated.

John Stones (Maguire 82) Not on long enough to be rated.

Not used: Nick Pope, Dean Henderson, Tino Livramento, Rico Lewis, Ezri Konsa, Conor Gallagher.