Roy Keane’s scathing assessment of ‘arrogant’ England under Lee Carsley

England should have put the match to bed in the second half, according to Keane

Roy Keane launched a scathing attack on ‘arrogant’ England and accused players of being selfish in their 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.
In a match dominated by Lee Carsley’s refusal to sing the national anthem, England got their new era off to a winning start with goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish in Dublin.
Carsley, who mistakenly sat in the Ireland dugout before kick off, did not sing God Save the King before the Nations League match and Rice and Grealish were booed by the home fans because they defected to England.
Keane, who won 67 caps for Ireland, said Carsley’s men played within themselves in the second half.
“The frustrating thing today is Ireland were there for the taking,” Keane told ITV. “England dominated the first half. We praised them, their decision-making, their quality, their movement, but that was the opposite for the second half.
“I thought they were awful in the second half, players playing for themselves, taking too many touches, trying to play Roy of the Rovers passes.
“Ireland played with a lot of pride in the second half, but as good as England were in the first half I thought they were just as bad in the second half.
“Players playing for themselves. Even the substitute players strolling on, strolling off, showing a bit of arrogance.
“There’s a team there for the taking, especially for attacking players, if you’re on that pitch you’re thinking, ‘I’ve got chances here to go and score a goal’.”
Grealish said he was not surprised by the hostile reception he and Rice received at the Aviva Stadium.
“It was what me and Declan expected,” he said. “We have nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time [playing for Ireland] – I certainly did and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there’s no bad blood whatsoever from my side.
“Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name, there’s no better feeling than playing for England, everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.”