Republic of Ireland 0-2 England: ‘Second best by far’ – Heimir Hallgrimsson on Nations League defeat

Hallgrimsson has taken over a side who won just 11 out of 40 games under Stephen Kenny and their lack of confidence did not go unnoticed by the new boss, who included his players’ unwillingness to shoot and cross from promising positions in his analysis.

After a difficult first half, however, Hallgrimsson was heartened by what he felt was an improved second-half display, perhaps aided by England taking their foot off the gas after building a two-goal lead.

The Republic of Ireland’s cause was not helped by a lack of cutting edge, though, with Jayson Molumby and Sammie Szmodics passing up presentable chances to score.

“It was more initiative, we got a little bit higher. We were more compact,” Hallgrimsson said of the second half.

“Easy to say when you are winning 2-0, you probably take the foot off the gas a little bit.

“But I think we can learn from this, grow from this and improve step by step from what we were doing instead of changing personnel or changing formations in the next game.”