England encounter promises electric start to Hallgrimsson era

There has been a lot going on this international week; new head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson finally got to meet his squad, while the country prepares for a first competitive outing against old foes England since 1991.

The new manager has been frantically trying to instil the main points of his philosophy into his new squad, while in opposition, a former Ireland international is in charge of the visiting England team, complete with two former Boys in Green.

Lee Carsley was capped 40 times for Ireland, but now holds the interim manager's job with England following a successful run with their Under-21 side, while Declan Rice played three times in green before returning to declare for England, and Jack Grealish represented the country at underage level.

So many sideshows, but none really that can really distract from the spectacle of such a big occasion, as the sides go head-to-head in the opening game of the UEFA Nations League campaign.

For a man who prides himself on the philosophy of realism, it appears that Heimir Hallgrimsson must have enjoyed a positive introduction to his new position as he spoke about a template to beat England tonight.

It came with a caveat, of course, as he spoke about the quality of the world number four-ranked side who are coming into the game off the back of a Euro 2024 final appearance – losing out 2-1 to Spain in the decider – while also playing down his own previous achievements from 2016 stating the current England side have a lot more quality than the team beaten by Hallgrimsson’s Iceland at that tournament.

And even without some key players who have been ruled out of the game, including Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Aston Villa striker