Roy Keane slams ‘arrogant’ England stars ‘playing for themselves’; responds to Carsley anthem backlash

Roy Keane claims England players were “playing for themselves” in the second half against “a team there for the taking” in the Republic of Ireland.

The Three Lions eased to a 2-0 win in their Nations League opener as Jack Grealish and Declan Rice scored the goals in the first half of interim manager Lee Carsley’s first game in charge.

England were dominant in the first 45 minutes and perhaps should have led by more but allowed Ireland back into the game after the break before missing late chances to add to their lead.

And Keane wasn’t impressed with what he saw after half-time, insisting Carsley’s side showed their “arrogance” in an “awful” display.

Speaking on ITV, the Irishman said: “The frustrating thing today was that Ireland were there for the taking. England dominated the first half and we praised them and their decision-making, their quality, their movement – but it was the opposite in the second half. I thought they were awful.

“Players were playing for themselves; they were taking too many touches, trying to play Roy of the Rovers passes. Keep doing the basics and stuff Ireland out. But Ireland played with a lot of pride in the second half.

“As good as England were in the first half, I thought they were just as bad in the second. Players [were] playing for themselves – even the substitutions, players strolling off, showing a bit of arrogance…there’s a team there for the taking! Especially with those attacking players. If you’re there on the pitch, you’re thinking, ‘I’ve got chances here to go and score a goal’.”

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Ian Wright, on punditry duty alongside Keane, agree that England should “pressed it home” in the second half.

Wright added: “It felt like they took their foot off the gas a little bit. Maybe because Ireland didn’t come at them as I thought they would. I thought [Chiedozie] Ogbene did very well for them, he tried. I’d liked to have [Evan Ferguson] on a bit earlier.

“But from England’s point of view, it’s the kind of game, the way we started, the way we played, I thought we should have pressed it home a little bit more and started [the second half] with the same intensity to see if we could get three or four.”

Keane was also asked for his take on the ludicrous and extraordinary backlash Carsley has received for refusing to sing England’s national anthem.

“Welcome to the reality of being manager of England,” Keane said. “It is unfair, of course it is.

“The priority is to try and win football matches and that will take care of everything else. He’s come through the youth teams, this is senior and there’s huge pressure. Huge demands.

“He played for Ireland, he never sung it with the U21’s, it wasn’t an issue then.”