Ruthless England show Hallgrimsson tough road ahead

The gulf between England and the Republic of Ireland highlighted the daunting list of challenges in Heimir Hallgrimsson's in-tray

As England strolled to a comfortable Nations League victory in the Dublin sunshine courtesy of goals from the evening's two pantomime villains, it was difficult not to think that this was just what Heimir Hallgrimsson needed to see.

In the build-up to Saturday, the new Republic of Ireland boss, charged with breathing new into an Irish team that lost its way under his predecessor Stephen Kenny, admitted he was still getting to know his players.

He will know them a little better now. More importantly, he will now appreciate the volume of work required if he is to emulate his feat in guiding his native Iceland to the World Cup finals.

In his pre-match news conference on Friday, Hallgrimsson said that in order to beat England for just the third time in history, the Republic of Ireland needed to take their chances at one end and be ultra-tight to shut England out at the other.

They did neither. Not only did they spurn a collection of presentable chances, the ease with which they allowed England to cut through them for the two goals will have opened Hallgrimsson's eyes to what he has inherited from Kenny.

In the hour leading up to kick-off, Hallgrimsson cut a relaxed figure, all smiles and arms folded, watching on as his players went through their pre-game drills.

In recent years, the Aviva Stadium hasn't always boasted the most raucous atmosphere, but there was electricity in the air as the first competitive match between these sides in Dublin since 1990 began.

And during the opening exchanges, the Republic of Ireland played as though fuelled by the energy inside the stadium which intensified remarkably any time Jack Grealish and Declan Rice touched the ball.

The spectacle was worthy of a new chapter but the hosts' early-evening optimism soon faded. Against vastly superior opposition, they laid bare the issues which have kept this team back: missed chances, disjointed patterns of play and an alarming vulnerability when defending counter-attacks.

England's first goal encapsulated this Irish team's issues. A quarter of an hour in, the hosts pressed, turned England over and created a chance for Sammie Szmodics, one of the fresher faces in the squad.

With his shot turned away by Jordan Pickford, Chiedozie Ogbene was unable to control the follow-up. Before the hosts knew it, the chance was gone and Trent Alexander-Arnold sliced the green defence apart with a delightful pass to Anthony Gordon.

The difference was that while Gordon too was denied by a Merseyside-based goalkeeper in Liverpool's Caoimhin Kelleher, England kept the move alive long enough for Rice to slam home the opener.

With Rice - excellent on the night - turning provider for Grealish, the nightmarish scenario for Irish fans was complete, their hopes of witnessing a famous win as good as dead after 26 minutes.

Hallgrimsson, making no attempt to hide his dismay at how his side coughed up two goals in the space of 15 minutes, observed: "If you see the first goal, it's just a pass through the heart of the team.

"It should never happen at any level of football, so you're unhappy - but if you were playing youth football, you would still be unhappy with a goal like this.

"The second goal was a give-and-go, four, five, six give-and-goes through us. Again, shouldn't happen at this level."

England's first goal came after the Republic of Ireland created a chance for Sammie Szmodics, who saw his shot turned away by Jordan Pickford

While clearly disappointed, Hallgrimsson has been quick to attach realism to his comments around this fixture. And for good reason. He is not going to be condemned for losing to England, who before Saturday were last seen in a European Championship final, just as Kenny was not castigated for losing to the likes of France.

The problem under the previous regime, of course, was slipping up in the more winnable games. In addition to embarrassing defeats by Luxembourg and Armenia, under Kenny the Irish also lost home and away to Finland and Greece, the other two members of this Nations League group.

In Euro 2024 qualifying, the Republic of Ireland's 2-0 home defeat by Greece was utterly dismal and Hallgrimsson has his work cut out to avoid a repeat.

The Republic of Ireland (58th) find themselves in between Greece (54th) and Finland (63rd) in the world rankings and must deliver at least two home wins to stop the mood turning sour once more.

And even this early in Hallgrimsson's reign, Greece's visit to Dublin on Tuesday feels significant.

"They're the ones we want to be battling against in this table," said Ogbene, who started the Republic of Ireland's defeat by Greece in Dublin last year.

"Without being disrespectful, we want to pick up points against them and when we play England away we want to pick up points.

"We want to pick up points regardless of who we play but if we want to be anywhere near the top of this division, we need to be picking up points against those around us."