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Sir Alf Ramsey remains the only England manager to have won a World Cup, a status he may retain for a few decades to come, but Lee Carsley can step up as interim manager with a unique distinction of his own. Carsley is the only English manager to have been promoted. And if that reflects both the newness of the Nations League and the reality that Gareth Southgate managed to avoid relegation during an otherwise successful reign, Carsley has at least spared Thomas Tuchel a play-off in his first games and can retire with a Win rate of 83 percent. This was the most emphatic. The former Republic of Ireland midfielder secured England’s biggest win over the country he has represented 40 times.

Ireland were defeated in the space of eight minutes, when their earlier stubbornness became irrelevant as they were reduced to ten men and conceded three times. Carsley’s team were uninspired before half-time and then showed a ruthlessness to capitalize when Ireland capitulated. A 3-0, 5-0 win in November, even though admissions reached double figures, was a personal triumph.

For Harry Kane it was an international breakthrough that made the difference, but also brought a successful ending. Dropped for the match against Greece, pushed around and frustrated in the first half when he was booked for wrestling with Jayson Molumbuy, he set up the opener with a beautiful pass and scored from the penalty spot. He may have pointed out to the players who stayed away that this was the reward for reporting for duty in England.

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Yet Kane’s 69th international goal was the anomaly. Not since 1930 had four players scored their first international goal for England in the same match, but Carsley has a policy of creating chances and for a quartet this was a first.

For Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, they represented wonderful moments. Everyone is a grafter who has had to work their way to the top. Gallagher and Harwood-Bellis have had their fair share of loan spells. Bowen started in non-league. Gordon couldn’t get into the Preston side not too long ago. No doubt no one was destined to score for England. Now everyone has that. In Bowen’s case it was a goal with his first touch. For Harwood-Bellis it was a debut strike, albeit one that his whole family may not have been happy about: not when Roy Keane becomes his father-in-law.

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And there was a certain cruelty to Ireland. They made overtures to Carsley to manage them before eventually settling on Heimir Hallgrimsson, the former dentist who had them expertly drilled before the break. In Dublin in September, Ireland faced two players who could have fielded in their colours: Declan Rice, who played briefly for them, and Jack Grealish, who perhaps could have. In the rematch the scorers included two more of Irish descent in Kane and Gallagher. Some of Ireland’s best days are thanks to their diaspora. For once they could regret it.

But for 50 minutes, Hallgrimsson’s game plan worked: Ireland fielded four centre-backs, with Nathan Collins as an ersatz midfielder. England lacked a clear opening. But if Kane doesn’t have the defensive pace of Ollie Watkins, who ousted him against Greece, he can play a defensive pass. The striker who also functions as a playmaker offers another dimension. He found Jude Bellingham. He was caught by Liam Scales, who, having already been warned, was duly dismissed. Kane converted the penalty.

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Ireland could rue a number of first-half objections that were rejected, as well as the unnecessary booking of Scales in the first half for delaying a free-kick. Without him they fell apart.

The second was a goal scored in Newcastle, albeit aided by Burnley’s past and present. With three Newcastle players starting for England for the first time since 1997, Tino Livramento crossed and Gordon struck in; However, it was only after a moment of confusion between the Collins and Josh Cullen that this meant the ball bounced off the Clarets midfielder.

Then Gallagher sneaked in to tap in after Marc Guehi tapped Noni Madueke’s corner. The Chelsea winger, another beneficiary of the Carsley era, had been England’s brightest player in a dull start.

They turned a win into a loss when Bellingham recorded two assists in four minutes. Bowen, only called up to the squad when eight others withdrew on Monday, curled home a shot from a well-worked free-kick. Harwood-Bellis, the eighth and final debutant of Carsley’s six games, headed in a cross from the Real Madrid midfielder.

And so England returned to the highest level of the Nations League. It may have been a relatively small prize considering they were on the brink of an elusive major trophy in 2024, but it was the task set for Carsley. He succeeded, and with some newer faces. His interim period can be considered a success.