England vs Republic of Ireland result: Lee Carsley signs off in style with Nations League thrashing

England produced their best performance under Gareth Southgate as they thrashed the Republic of Ireland 3-0 at Wembley on Thursday to win their Nations League group and secure a place in next summer’s finals.

Bukayo Saka gave England the lead in the first half with a fine individual goal, before Raheem Sterling doubled the advantage with a penalty. Harry Kane then added a third in the second half to complete the scoring.

The victory was a timely boost for Southgate, who had come under pressure following a poor run of results in the Nations League. It also gave England a measure of revenge for their defeat to Ireland in Dublin last month.

Southgate made several changes to his team for the game, with Saka, Sterling and Conor Coady all coming into the starting line-up. The changes paid off as England dominated the game from the start.

Saka opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a superb solo goal. The Arsenal winger received the ball on the left flank, beat two defenders and then curled a shot into the top corner of the net.

England doubled their lead in the 39th minute when Sterling was brought down in the penalty area by Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. Sterling himself stepped up to take the spot-kick and he made no mistake.

Kane made it 3-0 in the second half with a close-range finish from a cross by Kieran Trippier.

The win means that England have won their Nations League group with 13 points from six games. They will now face the runners-up from Group B in the semi-finals next summer.

For Ireland, the defeat was a disappointing end to their Nations League campaign. They finished bottom of the group with just one point from six games.