Early James goal sparks England win in Dublin
England’s women got a first Euro 2025 qualifying win on the board as they defeated the Republic of Ireland 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Four days on from being held 1-1 by Sweden at Wembley in their Group A3 opener, Sarina Wiegman's reigning European champions went in front via Lauren James' 12th-minute finish.
They were then awarded two penalties for handball, with defender Alex Greenwood converting the first in the 18th minute before sending the second against a post in the 30th.
After the break England substitute Fran Kirby was thwarted by a fine Courtney Brosnan save, and Hannah Hampton selected over Mary Earps in the Lionesses goal - then parried Caitlin Hayes' header as the Republic applied late pressure in front of a crowd of 32,742.
Wiegman's side sit second in the pool behind France, who have six points after beating Sweden 1-0, while Eileen Gleeson's Ireland remain without a point, having lost 1-0 to the French in their first game last Friday.
England are next in action with a double-header against France on May 31 and June 4.
“A hard game,” said England manager Wiegman. “I think we totally dominated the first half and could have been up 4-0. Later it became a fight and we wanted to stay out of the fight. We had to show lots more, being really tight in possession.”
Wales were also in action yesterday and maintained a perfect start to their qualifying campaign with a 6-0 win over Kosovo in Podujevo.
Rachel Rowe and Kayleigh Barton were on target in the first half, with both goals set up by Jess Fishlock making her 150th international appearance and captaining the side.
Rowe added a deflected effort, before substitute Ffion Morgan slotted in from close range. Elise Hughes came off the bench to hit a late double as Wales wrapped up another comfortable victory under new head coach Rhian Wilkinson, following on from beating Croatia 4-0 in Wrexham.
Northern Ireland, who drew 0-0 with Malta on Friday, got back on track with a 3-1 win over Boznia-herzegovina. In a much-improved performance in Zenica, Lauren Wade, Megan Bell and Simone Magill got the goals.