'Six minutes of madness' - Hallgrimsson laments second-half collapse against England

"Six minutes of madness" was how Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson described his side's capitulation to England at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening.

Five second-half goals following the sending off of Liam Scales eight minutes after the break, as Ireland were humiliated by their old foes to end their Nations League campaign in shocking defeat.

A gutsy and, mostly disciplined, first-half performance showed signs that Ireland could nullify the threat of one of the world footballing superpowers, however, a moment of petulance by Scales in the first half, kicking the ball away in frustration, would come back to haunt the Celtic man, who had barely put a foot wrong all evening.

Until, of course, he chopped down Jude Bellingham inside the penalty box, which not only resulted in a penalty for the hosts, but it also led to the former Shamrock Rovers man getting sent off for his second bookable offence.

Harry Kane dispatched from the spot, and six minutes later, Ireland were out on their feet, as a result of two quick-fire England goals from Anthony Gordon and Conor Gallagher.

In the end, England settled for five, when they really could have hit double digits, as Ireland had no answer for their bombardment throughout the chastening second half at Wembley.

"I am lost for words. Six minutes of madness," said Hallgrimsson, speaking at the post match press conference. "It was a shock conceding a penalty, conceding a goal, losing a player.

"We probably lost our heads at this moment, leading into a second and third goal. Lost our heads. Gave up.

"We struggle with confidence, and it clearly took away all confidence from what we did really well in first half. You cannot explain things like that, it just happens, a slap in the face that was