England–Ireland football rivalry

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England–Ireland football rivalry
LocationBritish Isles (UEFA)
Teams England
 Republic of Ireland
First meetingIreland 0–1 England
(30 September 1946)
Friendly
Latest meetingEngland 3–0 Ireland
(12 November 2020)
Friendly
Statistics
Meetings total16
Most winsEngland (6)
Most player appearancesEngland Bryan Robson
England Gary Lineker
Republic of Ireland Pat Bonner
Republic of Ireland Paul McGrath
Republic of Ireland David O'Leary
(5 apps)
Top scorerEngland John Atyeo
England Tommy Taylor
(3 goals)
All-time recordEngland: 6
Draw: 8
Ireland: 2

The England–Ireland football rivalry is a rivalry between England and Republic of Ireland football teams. The first ever match was played on 30 September 1946 at Dalymount Park, Dublin. England won the match 1–0.[1][2] On 21 September 1949, Republic of Ireland won the second match 2–0 which was played at Goodison Park, Liverpool and became the first foreign team to defeat England at their home soil.[2][3]

Since then there have a been a total of 16 matches between both the teams with England and Republic of Ireland winning six and two matches respectively and eight games ended in a draw.[4]

History[]

England and Ireland has a long-standing rivalry, stretching back to Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, when settlers started to control Irish affairs, British colonizing the Irish Island and displacing the locals and with Plantation of Ulster they put Catholic (local) majority under the control of Protestant (settlers) minority. After the Irish War of Independence, the British divided Ireland into two self-governing polities; which later became Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. The split cause animosity between England and Republic of Ireland which can be often seen when both the countries meet in any sporting events.[5]

The rivalry is further intensified when Irish born or descendant players switch allegiances to English national football team, with Declan Rice and Jack Grealish being the latest examples, as both represented Republic of Ireland from U16 to U21 team and switched to England at senior level.[6][7] Rice made 3 appearances for Republic of Ireland national team before joining England senior team.

List of matches[]

No. Date Location Competition Home team Result Away team
1. 30 September 1946 Republic of Ireland Dublin Friendly Republic of Ireland
0–1
 England
2. 21 September 1949 England Liverpool Friendly England
0–2
 Republic of Ireland
3. 3 October 1956 England London 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification England
5–1
 Republic of Ireland
4. 19 May 1957 Republic of Ireland Dublin 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification Republic of Ireland
1–1
 England
5. 24 May 1964 Republic of Ireland Dublin Friendly Republic of Ireland
1–3
 England
6. 8 September 1976 England London Friendly England
1–1
 Republic of Ireland
7. 25 October 1978 Republic of Ireland Dublin UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying Republic of Ireland
1–1
 England
8. 6 February 1980 England London UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying England
2–0
 Republic of Ireland
9. 25 March 1985 England London Friendly England
2–1
 Republic of Ireland
10. 12 June 1988 West Germany Stuttgart UEFA Euro 1988 England
0–1
 Republic of Ireland
11. 11 June 1990 Italy Cagliari 1990 FIFA World Cup England
1–1
 Republic of Ireland
12. 14 November 1990 Republic of Ireland Dublin UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying Republic of Ireland
1–1
 England
13. 27 March 1991 England London UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying England
1–1
 Republic of Ireland
– 15 February 1995 Republic of Ireland Dublin Friendly Republic of Ireland
1–0[a]
 England
14. 29 May 2013 England London Friendly England
1–1
 Republic of Ireland
15. 7 June 2015 Republic of Ireland Dublin Friendly Republic of Ireland
0–0
 England
16. 12 November 2020 England London Friendly England
3–0
 Republic of Ireland
  1. ^ Match was abandoned after 27 minutes following crowd trouble. The result was declared void but players were still credited with international caps.

Statistics[]

All-time top goalscorers[]

Nation Player Goals Years
England John Atyeo 3 1955–57
England Tommy Taylor 3 1953–57
England Gary Lineker 2 1984–92
England Kevin Keegan 2 1972–82

All-time most appearances[]

Nation Player Appearances Years Position
England Bryan Robson 5 1980–1991 Midfielder
England Gary Lineker 5 1984–1992 Forward
Republic of Ireland Pat Bonner 5 1981–1996 Goalkeeper
Republic of Ireland Paul McGrath 5 1985–1997 Defender
Republic of Ireland David O'Leary 5 1976–1993 Defender

Overall[]

Matches Wins Draws Goals
England Rep. of Ireland England Rep. of Ireland
FIFA World Cup 1 0 0 1 1 1
FIFA World Cup qualification 2 1 0 1 6 2
UEFA European Championship 1 0 1 0 0 1
UEFA Euro qualification 4 1 0 3 5 3
All competitions 8 2 1 5 12 7
Friendly 8 4 1 3 11 6
All matches 16 6 2 8 23 13

References[]

  1. ^ "Friendlies 1946 » September » Ireland - England 0:1". worldfootball.net. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Healy, Martin (November 11, 2020). "The long history of Ireland vs England matches through the years". extra.ie. Extra.ie. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "Friendlies 1949 » September » England - Ireland 0:2". worldfootball.net. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "England » Record against Ireland". worldfootball.net. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  5. ^ Wallenfeldt, Jeff. "The Troubles". britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Delaney, Miguel. "What Ireland really feels about England, an 800-year rivalry of shades of grey, green and white". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "Jack Grealish chooses England over Republic of Ireland". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
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