Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson says England exposed his team’s weaknesses during the 2-0 defeat in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday night.
Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson has acknowledged that his side were “second best” to England as they suffered a 2-0 defeat in their UEFA Nations League game in Dublin.
Hallgrimsson was taking charge of his first game having replaced interim manager John O’Shea at the helm earlier in the summer.
There had been optimism that the former Iceland and Jamaica coach could earn a morale-boosting victory in what was a high-profile fixture for both nations.
However, despite matching the Euro 2024 finalists during the early stages, Republic of Ireland were comfortably beaten courtesy of first-half goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish.
The Boys in Green created more openings after the break, but England were never in danger of relinquishing a lead given to them by two former Republic of Ireland representatives.
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What did Hallgrimsson have to say?
Speaking to RTE after the game, Hallgrimsson was complimentary of the way that England had cut through his defence, especially in the first half.
Nevertheless, the 57-year-old admitted that his side have ‘a lot to learn’ across future matches if they are to make improvements under his watch.
Hallgrimsson said: “England had a good game today and I’m not afraid to say that we were the second best.
“I think the lack of initiative or the lack of confidence. I think it showed that England were coming back from a good Euros and the players behaved in a way where they thought everything they tried would succeed. Compared to us, we were a little bit more passive and didn’t anticipate.”
He added: “At any level of football you would be unhappy at conceding a goal that is passed through the heart of the team. The second goal was well done from England but they were through and I was really unhappy with the goals that we conceded.
“We had chances to do better on occasions. What we can take from this game is that it was a good team that we played against and they exposed a lot of our weaknesses, and we can learn from that. We can improve in the future, and that is my job.”
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What now for both sides?
The turnaround for matchday two of the Nations League is a quick one. On Tuesday, Republic of Ireland will face a Greece side on away territory that they lost to in their Euro 2024 qualifiers last year.
Meanwhile, Lee Carsley‘s England will play host to Finland at Wembley Stadium looking to take full control of the group as they bid to return to the top tier of this competition.
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