It was Red vs. Red at Wembley as England met Ireland, with Curtis Jones getting the bragging rights over Caoimhin Kelleher with a thumping 5-0 victory.
For the second time in as many games, Jones was named in the starting lineup for the Three Lions and did his chances of featuring under new manager Thomas Tuchel no harm.
Liverpool’s No. 17 played 79 minutes on Sunday evening, impressing with his composure even if his performance was not as eye-catching as his debut against Greece.
GOAL rated his performance as a six-out-of-10, saying he “demonstrated his confidence on the ball,” the Guardian rated him similarly and noted he “showed flashes of class.”
Jones played alongside Conor Gallagher in a match that saw four players score their first goal for England, with Kelleher helpless to stop them in the Ireland goal.
A second-half red card to Ireland centre-back Liam Scales – after two yellow card offences – changed the game, with Harry Kane’s successful penalty conversion followed by four goals in 23 minutes.
Anthony Gordon got England’s second, with Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis following in quick succession as Ireland’s night went from bad to worse. Kelleher, thankfully, made an important save late on to keep it at five.
The quartet all celebrated their maiden goals for their country, just days on from Jones having the same experience on debut in Greece.
The 5-0 win sealed promotion back to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League, while Ireland will now have to fight for their place in League B after finishing third in their group.
Jarell Quansah watched the fixture from the bench after earning a late senior call-up due to a host of injuries – a valuable experience even if he did not earn his first senior cap.
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Thankfully, from a Liverpool perspective, the trio will return to the AXA Training Centre with a clean bill of health and will be afforded a few days’ rest with their international commitments now over.
In total, Kelleher played the full 180 minutes, Jones featured for 169, and Quansah was unused after moving up from the under-21s squad.
Elsewhere, Ibrahima Konate captained France to a 3-1 win over Italy, and Kostas Tsimikas was part of Greece’s 2-0 victory in Finland – they too emerged from their games unscathed.
