sport news Republic of Ireland 0-2 England: Lionesses pick up first victory of Euro 2025 ... trends now
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For 45 minutes there was a comforting sense of familiarity about England’s victory against the Republic of Ireland.
In control and clinical - it was a performance more akin to the type we expect from the European champions than the underwhelming draw against Sweden on Friday.
The second half was less convincing. Had Ireland taken their chances, they could have come away with a vital point.
In the end, England’s first half performance was enough. A moment of quality from Lauren James, who opened the scoring in the 12th minute, and a penalty from Alex Greenwood, who later missed a second from the spot, sealed victory.
It leaves them second in their Euro 2025 qualifying group, behind leaders France who have won both of their opening games.
Sarina Wiegman will have concerns about how difficult her side made it for themselves at times here, but one aspect of this win was the return of captain Leah Williamson, who made her first international appearance in nearly a year after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament.
England secured a 2-0 victory against Republic of Ireland in Dublin in Euro 2025 qualifying
Lauren James opened the scoring for the Lionesses with a clinical finish from close range
Alex Greenwood made it 2-0 from the spot after Ruesha Littlejohn was penalised for handball
It was Greenwood's seventh international goal on a night when she won her 92nd England cap
Wearing the captain’s armband, the defender sprayed passes about and slid into tackles as if she had never been away. In truth, she was probably the Lionesses’ best player on the pitch.
Williamson was one of five changes made from last week. It is very unlike Wiegman to rotate so heavily for a competitive fixture, but it quickly became apparent that Ireland would not be able to defend as well as Sweden.
