Football Football Maguire, Sancho, Calvert-Lewin lead England past Ireland in friendly Maguire, wearing the captain's armband, headed his side in front after 18 minutes and Sancho's fine finish put the host in cruise control before halftime. Reuters 13 November, 2020 08:28 IST It was quite a turnaround for Maguire who was sent off in England's last game, a 1-0 Nations League defeat by Denmark. - Getty Images Reuters 13 November, 2020 08:28 IST England beat Ireland for the first time since 1985 as goals by Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and Dominic Calvert-Lewin secured a 3-0 win in a friendly at an empty Wembley Stadium on Thursday.Maguire, wearing the captain's armband, headed his side in front after 18 minutes and Sancho's fine finish put the host in cruise control before halftime.England created numerous chances but Calvert-Lewin's penalty was the only addition to the score as the host impressed ahead of Nations League clashes against Belgium and Iceland. Cash-strapped Valencia reveals plans to plug losses with more player sales It was quite a turnaround for Maguire who was sent off in England's last game, a 1-0 Nations League defeat by Denmark.England's performance was also a welcome distraction after a difficult week in which Liverpool defender Joe Gomez suffered a serious knee injury in training with the national team and FA chairman Greg Clarke resigned after making inappropriate comments at a parliamentary committee meeting.Remarkably, England's last six completed matches against Ireland had ended in draws with the game in Dublin in 1995 abandoned because of crowd trouble. Cillessen has surgery on ruptured thigh, out for four months But the latest meeting proved far less eventful and completely one-sided as Southgate's young team impressed. @CalvertLewin14 made it 2 goals in 3 starts for @England (all victories) tonight. He recently spoke to us about his #WorldCup dreams "I want to lead the line for England in major competitions and be the man they rely on to score goals." https://t.co/EavKnZ20Z6 pic.twitter.com/2BVzMElc09— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 12, 2020 “We used the ball very well, created a lot of chances. We could have been more comfortable if we had taken some of those chances but overall very pleased,” Southgate said.A bonus was a debut for 17-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham who came on in the second half to become the third-youngest player to represent England, behind Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney.Keeper Dean Henderson also earned his first cap after replacing Nick Pope at halftime. Liverpool's Gomez out for 'significant part' of season after knee surgery Ireland, which was drafted in to replace New Zealand as England's opponent, enjoyed a decent opening 10 minutes but after that was outclassed.Aston Villa's in-form playmaker Jack Grealish was given a start by Southgate and he produced a fine display.With Harry Kane among the substitutes, Maguire was handed the armband, and the Manchester United defender enjoyed a quiet night in defence while showing his threat at the other end.His header from a Harry Winks cross sent England on its way and Grealish combined with Sancho for the latter to jink past Jeff Hendrick and fire low past Darren Randolph.After 56 minutes Arsenal's Bukayo Saka was brought down in the box, and Calvert-Lewin sent his spot-kick high into the net. Read more stories on Football. For more updates, follow Sportstar on :