England v Rep Ireland: A quick digest as Irish are put to the sword in second half romp

The Details: 

England (0) 5 Kane pen 53, Gordon 56, Gallagher 58, Bowen 76, Harwood-Bellis 80

Republic of Ireland (0) 0

Line-ups: England (4-2-3-1) Pickford - Livramento, Walker (Harwood-Bellis 62), Guehi, Lewis - Gallagher (Solanke 75), Jones (Gomes 79) - Madueke (Bowen 75), Bellingham, Gordon (Rogers 75) - Kane

Ireland (5-4-1) Kelleher - O'Shea, McGuinness, Collins, Scales, O'Dowda (Azaz 67) - Ebosele (Manning 67), Cullen (Moran 77), Mulumby, Szomodics (McAteer 87) - Ferguson (Parrott 67)

Attendance: 79,969

The game in a nutshell: Three goals in five second-half minutes settled it as England ran riot following a goalless first 45 minutes. Ireland defender Liam Scales saw red on 52 minutes after a trip on Jude Bellingham which gave away the penalty that Harry Kane put away for his 69th goal for the Three Lions. The Celtic centre half had picked up a first half booking for kicking the ball away. Kane's superb pass to Bellingham created the chance. Soon after, Anthony Gordon volleyed in at the far post after club mate Tino Livramento's cross deflected off two defenders. Then a corner was nodded on by Marc Guehi at the near post for Conor Gallagher to stab in at the back stick. Jarrod Bowen came on and scored within seconds - a first-time left-footer for his first international strike. Taylor Harwood-Bellis also scored on his debut - heading home a Bellingham cross.

How did England play: Initially not very impressively and with too little tempo. With Ireland sitting deep in a manner that legendary former boss Jack Charlton would have admired, the Three Lions found it difficult to break down the mass of green shirts in their way. They didn't manage a single shot on target before the break despite having 75 per cent of the ball. That all changed once the Republic gave away the opening goal and were reduced to 10 men. After that it was plain sailing - and a day to remember for a team of irregulars and debutants.

What was the main takeaway: Who is in charge doesn't matter as much as the level of intensity on show. England had desire and pace in abundance to carve out a fine 3-0 win in Greece on Thursday night but a plodding first-half was a reminder that good players still have to inject a quick tempo to get past teams intent on defence. The injection of verve and expertise after the turn around emphasised the gulf in class that now exists between these two nations. Those days of parity in the late 80s and early 90s are long gone.

Who were the stand out players: Not for the first time, Jude Bellingham ran the show. Always searching for the ball. Always looking to prompt attacks. A man thriving on responsibility and clearly enjoying a break from the scrutiny of a tough start to the season for club side Real Madrid. He was even tracking back to make a tackle in the final minute with the game already done. A leader and an inspiration.

London boys: Noni Madueke (Chelsea) started where he left off in Athens. A dazzling early slalom spread panic and created a chance and he was the main focal point to start attacks. Guehi (Palace) also got a start and had a fine contest against Brighton's Evan Ferguson. He also claimed an assist for goal number three.

The Republic had Brentford's Nathan Collins and Watford's Festy Ebosele on duty. Ebosele was full of dynamic running and a couple of carries deep into enemy territory encouraged the Irish to initally believe they could get something out of this visit.

Bowen (West Ham) and Dom Solanke (Spurs) came off the bench for the final 15 minutes.

Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice (Arsenal) were among the nine players who withdrew from the final England camp overseen by Lee Carsley.

What was it like for Carsley?: Taking charge for the last time before the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in January, he can leave feeling his cameo has been a good one. It threatened to unravel with the bizarre team selection which produced a dismal home defeat to Greece but redemption has come with bold selections and trust in previously uncapped players he has known while coaching the U21s. Made light of withdrawals of high-profile players this time around to embrace the opportunity to experiment. This was a perfect send-off for the former Ireland international. Five wins out of six is his final tally.

Where does this leave Nations League campaign? In the pink. Victory means England secure top spot in their group to return to the elite Group A pools without the need for a March play-off.

READ PAUL LAGAN'S MATCH REPORT HERE