The Boys in Green were green with envy on Saturday evening, where newly-appointed England caretaker boss Carsley - a former Ireland international himself - witnessed two former Dublin flames haunt Heimir Hallgrimsson's men at the Aviva Stadium.

While Declan Rice - who even took part in a handful of senior internationals for Ireland before switching allegiance - held his hands up in apology after curling home an 11th-minute opener, Jack Grealish did not hold back, fist-pumping his way to the England crowd after adding a second against his erstwhile nation.

Rice and Grealish's well-taken goals would ostensibly precede an England onslaught, a contrast from the Southgate days where the Three Lions would often sit back after making the net bulge once, but Carsley's men declared at two after failing to keep up their intensity in the second half.

Nevertheless, Carsley has added some credit in the bank with the FA as the governing body scope out permanent successors to Southgate, and his England side occupy second place in League B Group 2 at present, only behind Greece on goal difference.

That standing would be enough to earn England a spot in the promotion playoffs, but in order to return to the promised land of League A, the Three Lions must now end a barren Wembley run; they have not won a Nations League game at home since November 2020, failing to score in two of their three fixtures since then.

A few hours after England's battle with Ireland concluded, Finland sought to spring a surprise on Greek soil under long-serving head coach Markku Kanerva, but the Scandinavian side were condemned to a humiliating start to their latest Nations League adventure.

While Panathinaikos marksman Fotis Ioannidis made his mark at the correct end of the field with a brace, Finland striker Benjamin Kallman put the ball past his own goalkeeper to contribute to a 3-0 defeat for his side, who are now on a three-match winless sequence.

When Bayer Leverkusen invincible Lukas Hradecky made a horror mistake to gift Greece their first goal - allowing a backpass to roll under his feet for Ioannidis to score - it was clear that lady luck was not on Finland's side, and Kanerva's men are already propping up the four-team standings.

The 2024-25 Nations League campaign represents the visitors' third straight year in League B, having topped their League C standings in the inaugural edition, but the Huuhkajat are already fighting a steep battle to retain their second-tier status.

Furthermore, each of the visitors' last four away games has seen them ship at least two goals, and they have never beaten England in 11 previous meetings - losing nine of them - although they have not crossed paths since a 2001 World Cup qualifier.