Gillingham defender Conor McManus starts and scores for Republic of Ireland under-21s in their 3-1 win over England in the Euro 2027 qualifying match at Turner’s Cross Stadium, Cork

Gillingham defender Conor McManus scored for Republic of Ireland under-21s in a win over England on Tuesday night.

McManus netted Ireland’s second goal in their 3-1 win against England in Cork to secure a Euro 2027 play-off place.

Tyler Dibling had put reigning European champions England ahead in the Group D qualifier, but Ireland fought back, and after equalising, they went ahead when McManus was slipped in, and he finished well past goalkeeper Tommy Setford.

The Republic of Ireland secured the win with a third goal in the second half.

McManus, 22, joined the Gills in the summer from Brentford and established himself in the starting line-up after stepping into the left wing-back role following an ACL injury to Kadeem Harris.

His call-up for Ireland meant he missed games against York City and Newport County, having also been left out against Bristol Rovers after picking up a slight injury.

He was an unused substitute for Ireland in their 2-0 win over Slovakia on September 25 and wasn’t in the squad when they beat Kazakhstan 4-3, but against England he was named in the starting line-up.

"It's all over & Ireland are in the play-offs!"