England vs Ireland LIVE! Nations League match stream, latest score and goal updates today

England vs Ireland LIVE!

Promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League is on the line when England play Ireland at Wembley in their final game of 2024. Lee Carsley will take charge of his last match as interim manager before Thomas Tuchel takes over in January, and Thursday’s 3-0 win in Greece means England seal top spot in group B2 with a win.

Securing promotion is key for England because it means they would avoid a Nations League play-off in March. That would be a nuisance for Tuchel and early disruption to his plans for the World Cup, so there is a lot at stake. England have been hit by a raft of player withdraws in this camp but they should have too much for Ireland, who are at the start of a rebuild under new manager Heimir Hallgrimsson.

Harry Kane will return to the England side after Carsley named him on the bench against Greece. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Dan Kilpatrick, Malik Ouzia and Dom Smith at Wembley.

England vs Ireland latest

• Kick-off: 5pm GMT | Wembley

• How to watch: ITV

• England XI: Kane starts; Livramento debut

• Ireland XI: Three changes; McGuinness debut

• Prediction

17:22 , Alex Young

21min: Kane is asked to run down a long ball over the top and, well, that’s just not happening.

17:22 , Alex Young

20min: A great drive into the area by Bellingham looks to drag Irish shirts out of possession, before a backheel to Gordon appears to open up space for a cross but the midfielder opts to find a team-mate further back.

17:20 , Alex Young

16min: England dominating possession and Ireland are still not doing too much to temper that.

As Dom predicted before the game, plenty of patience from the Three Lions.

17:14 , Alex Young

13min: Corner comes in, and again Walker meets it but this time he gets it all round.

Dom Smith at Wembley

17:13 , Alex Young

The chance in the end came to nothing, but Gallagher intercepting Szmodics high up the pitch there and showing exactly why he is in the team.

He has boundless energy levels, and hasn't stopped running so far this evening.

17:13 , Alex Young

11min: Madueke is seeing plenty of the ball down the right, but this time opts to cut back and find a team-mate on the edge of the area. Bellingham picks it up, cuts onto his left and sees a shot charged down.

17:10 , Alex Young

9min: After a slight delay, Gordon whips in the corner which is first headed away until the second attempt floats into Kelleher’s arms.

17:09 , Alex Young

8min: Great ball in from Bellingham to Gordon into the area, who tries to cut inside onto his right but Collins boots clear to concede a corner.

Malik Ouzia at Wembley

17:07 , Alex Young

Not often Kyle Walker gets to go up for corners. He’s usually the man back on the counter.

Proper method acting stuff from him there, embracing the centre-half brief with a flying run across the near post and decent header.

17:06 , Alex Young

5min: Walker climbs highest, and glances a header over.

That was close.

17:06 , Alex Young

4min: First glimpse of goal for England as Madueke gets to the byline and fires in a ball, which is parried as far as Jones to try his luck... and wins a corner.

17:02 , Alex Young

2min: England immediately sitting in and Ireland more than happy for them to have it.

Kick-off!

17:00 , Alex Young

1min: Here we go!

16:56 , Alex Young

Teams are out and the Irish are getting booed.

16:54 , Alex Young

The players are in the tunnel while quite the light show is being played out for the crowd.

16:51 , Alex Young

Lee Carsley has now spoken to ITV.

"We've seen the first game that they were very difficult to break down and the threat of the counter,” he said. “They are coming off the back of the win so hopefully we can break them down.

"Hopefully we have put ourselves in a good position now with the win the other night."

16:48 , Alex Young

Right, both teams are back in their dressing rooms. Not long to go now.

16:42 , Alex Young

One permanent manager who is at Wembley is Republic of Ireland’s Heimir Hallgrimsson.

He just spoke to ITV ahead of kick-off.

"I'm not so bothered about who is playing for England,” he said. “We know the depth of their squad, maybe they are more attacking than in Dublin and I like their players.

“They have better dribblers probably. England will always field a strong 11, no matter who is picked."

16:39 , Alex Young

It’s interesting that incoming England manager Thomas Tuchel is not here.

He doesn’t start in the role until January, but this is the final time his new side play until March.

Is it about giving Carsley space? Should he be there?

Dom Smith at Wembley

16:36 , Alex Young

The need to be patient this evening cannot be overestimated for England.

The visitors look set to line up with a back five and seek to frustrate Lee Carsley's side.

England must rotate play at pace with decisive passing, and eventually they should be good enough to force their way through.

16:30 , Alex Young

For Carsley, he ends his interim spell where he began - against Ireland.

Grealish and Rice scored both goals in a routine 2-0 win in September, but neither feature today.

Here’s what happened last time.

Malik Ouzia at Wembley

16:23 , Alex Young

A big opportunity for Lewis Hall this evening.

There are quite a lot of players in this line-up who are, realistically, place-holders for established starters. Think of Noni Madueke for Bukayo Saka, Conor Gallagher for Declan Rice or Tino Livramento for one of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker.

Hall’s situation is different - England, given you cannot rely on Luke Shaw’s fitness, do not have an incumbent left-back.

Malik and Dom on team news

16:17 , Alex Young

Here they are.

16:06 , Alex Young

It’s three changes apiece at Wembley.

Livramento is handed an England debut at right-back, with Newcastle team-mate Hall making his first start at left-back. Walker moves to centre-back.

For Ireland, McGuinness makes his debut.

Team news in full

15:58 , Alex Young

England XI: Pickford; Livramento, Walker, Guehi, Hall; Gallagher, Jones; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane

Subs: Henderson, Trafford, Lewis, Gibbs-White, Angel, Quansah, Hardwood-Bellis, Watkins, Rogers, Bowen, Solanke

Ireland XI: Kelleher; Ebosele, Collins, O'Shea, Scales, O'Dowda; McGuinness, Cullen, Molumby, Szmodics, Ferguson

Subs: Travers, O'Leary, Doherty, Manning, O'Brien, Moran, Coventry, Azaz, McAteer, Johnston, Parrott, Cannon

Ireland XI

15:54 , Alex Young

...and the visitors!

England XI

15:47 , Alex Young

Here it is!

15:44 , Alex Young

Team news isn’t far off.

15:30 , Alex Young

Fans are arriving. About 90 minutes until kick-off.

Head to head

15:25 , Alex Young

England beat Ireland in Dublin 2-0 in September, with Declan Rice and Jack Grealish both scoring against the country they could have represented.

Overall the Three Lions have a strong recent record against the Irish, having not lost to them since 1988.

England wins: 7

Draws: 8

Ireland wins: 2

Score prediction

15:17 , Alex Young

Carsley should get the sign-off his desires with a home win for England, as the loss of talent through injuries is offset by the incentive of impressing for players who might not have got the chance otherwise.

England were clinical in their 3-0 win over Greece - riding out some difficult moments and taking their chances well - and we expect them to have too much for the Irish.

Ireland will feel they have a great opportunity to upset their nearby rivals on the road, but despite Troy Parrott’s recent run of goals and Evan Ferguson’s endeavour up front they may fall just short.

England to win, 2-1.

Dom Smith arrives

15:08

One of three Standard reporters at Wembley today.

Predicted XIs

14:59 , Alex Young

England predicted XI: Pickford; Lewis, Walker, Guehi, Hall; Gallagher, Jones; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane

Ireland predicted XI: Kelleher; Doherty, Collins, Scales, O'Dowda; McAteer, Cullen, Molumby, Johnston; Parrott, Ferguson

England team news

14:47 , Alex Young

Harry Kane will return to the England starting line-up tonight.

Ollie Watkins started Thursday’s 3-0 win in Greece but Kane has been recalled by Lee Carsley for his final game as interim head coach.

Kyle Walker could play at centre-back alongside Marc Guehi, with Rico Lewis at right-back and Lewis Hall in line to make his first England start at left-back.

Curtis Jones is set to continue in midfield with Conor Gallagher after his impressive display against Greece.

Noni Madueke, Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon are set to line up behind Kane, with England knowing victory over Ireland will seal promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League.

Ezri Konsa has pulled out of the England squad and returned to Aston Villa due to injury.

Uncapped quartet Tino Livramento, James Trafford, Jarell Quansah and Taylor Harwood-Bellis will hope make their England debuts off the bench.

Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Cole Palmer were among eight players to withdrawn from the England squad before the Greece game.

How to watch for free

14:38 , Alex Young

TV channel: The game will be broadcast for free on ITV 1. Coverage starts at 4pm GMT ahead of a 5pm kick-off at Wembley.

Live stream: ITVX, which is free with a subscription, will offer a live stream.

Good afternoon!

14:32 , Giuseppe Muro

Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of England vs Ireland!

England are out to end 2024 on a high in Lee Carsley’s final game as interim head coach before Thomas Tuchel takes over in January.

Victory against the Irish will mean England secure promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League and avoid a disruptive play-off in March, so there is a lot at stake at Wembley.

We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 5pm GMT!