New Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson is hoping lightning strikes twice as he plots England’s downfall once again.
The 57-year-old was Iceland co-manager with Lars Lagerback when they masterminded a famous 2-1 last-16 victory over England at Euro 2016, in the process sending Roy Hodgson’s men to one of the lowest points in the country’s recent history.
A little more than eight years on, Hallgrimsson is looking to do much the same for Ireland in his first game since replacing Stephen Kenny at the helm when England head for the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Hallgrimsson said: “I hope we will have the same result tomorrow, of course.
“We were just speaking in the car on the way in – that night was special. Everything we did that night succeeded, whether it was tactical, taking our chances, defending our goal, and nothing England tried that night succeeded, so it was just one of those days.
“Hopefully it will come again tomorrow. But we know, even if we have our best game, it still isn’t sure it will lead into a victory against a good team like England.
“We need to make sure we have the best game we can tomorrow and see what that gives us.”
Recent history suggests Hallgrimsson’s caution is well-founded with England having reached the final of the last two European Championships, and he admits the current crop, under the temporary charge of former Ireland international Lee Carsley, represents a very different challenge to the one faced by his native country in 2016.
He said: “It’s a totally different team. The individual quality, the technical skills, the speed, of this team is much higher than the one we played.
“Also they are coming off from a good tournament and I would say the biggest difference is they have
Read more on breakingnews.ie
breakingnews.ie
