England 3-0 Republic of Ireland: Fringe players shine as Three Lions cruise to friendly win

Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho were on target in the first half of Thursday's encounter, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin's emphatic penalty completing a routine outing after the break.

Manager Gareth Southgate will now have plenty to think about after a strong showing from a number of England's fringe players prior to matches with Belgium and Iceland.

The visitors' hopes of earning a first ever Wembley win were dealt a blow when John Egan was forced off early on after taking a bang to the head.

A good night's work @HarryMaguire93, @Sanchooo10 and @CalvertLewin14 score the goals as the #ThreeLions beat Ireland. pic.twitter.com/cRm6OBBeTG

— England (@England) November 12, 2020

Ireland probed with a couple of dangerous low crosses but England hit the front from a corner that resulted from Darren Randolph saving smartly from Bukayo Saka following an initial poor punch.

Harry Winks picked up the first clearance and stood up a cross for Maguire to power home with his head.

Calvert-Lewin then went close at the end of a slick move and Randolph saved from Maguire before the lively Jack Grealish fed Sancho, who lashed home England's second through the legs of Jeff Hendrick.

England picked up where they left off in the second half, pressing Ireland high before Saka was tripped in the box by Cyrus Christie.

And Calvert-Lewin made no mistake from the spot, hammering the ball into the top corner for the second goal of his short international career.

With the hosts in complete control late on, Southgate introduced Jude Bellingham from the bench, making him the third youngest England player of all-time.

What does it mean? Southgate given headache

The wisdom of playing these international friendlies has been questioned in recent weeks, but there is no doubt that Southgate learned more about the depth at his disposal this evening.

There is nothing better for a manager than to see fringe players stepping up in the absence of key men and that is exactly what happened for England here. Southgate is facing a very welcome headache.

It once felt like there was nothing Grealish could do to get into the England squad, but just two caps in he already looks a dead cert for inclusion in the Euros squad next summer.

The Aston Villa man was influential again here, taking 50 touches, completing 88.9% of passes in the opposition half, and making two key passes - including the assist for Sancho's goal.

Starting up front for the visitors at Wembley, Adam Idah would have hoped to make much more of an impact before his withdrawal in the 71st minute.

The 19-year-old touched the ball just 18 times, and won only one of his five duels.

- England earned their first win over the Republic of Ireland since March 1985, ending a run of seven without victory against them. - Republic of Ireland are without a goal in their last five matches in all competitions, their longest run without scoring since another run of five between November 1995-May 1996. - Harry Maguire became the 33rd different Manchester United player to score for the England men’s team – no club has provided more different goalscorers for the Three Lions (level with Tottenham). - Jadon Sancho became the first player to score for England at Wembley while playing for a non-English club side since Steve McManaman v Luxembourg in September 1999. - Each of England's last four penalty goals have been scored by different players (Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin), the longest such streak of different penalty scorers since a run involving Terry McDermott, Kevin Keegan, Phil Neal, Bryan Robson and Gary Lineker between 1980-1990 (excluding shootouts).