Weekend Review: No luck for the Irish as England ease to victory at Wembley

England (1/5) easily overcame a 10-man Ireland (14/1) side on Sunday evening at Wembley Stadium, giving interim manager Lee Carsley a win in his final game in charge and a welcome result for punters.

After a tense opening 45 minutes between the two sides, the Three Lions ran rampant after the break.

Scoring three goals in five minutes after Ireland’s Liam Scales was sent off, Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon and Connor Gallagher put the game to bed before the 60th minute.

Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis added the finishing touches for England, who had soundly beaten Greece 3-0 earlier in the week.

Betfred’s Alan Firkins said the result on Sunday was a good one for the punters, as England signed off 2024 in style.

He remarked: “Lee Carsley signed off as England’s interim head coach with a thumping 5-0 Nations League win against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday – a popular result for Betfred customers.

“This, coupled with an empathic win in Greece earlier in the week, was a welcome upturn in form and fortune for the national side.”

OLBG’s Jake Ashton said the England win now puts them 13/2 to win 2026 World Cup, which will be newly appointed boss Thomas Tuchel’s first major tournament in charge of the national team.

“England’s 5-0 win against Ireland on Sunday saw talk once again of the Three Lions winning the World Cup in 2026, with their odds now sitting at 13/2 to win the tournament,” he said.

“Thomas Tuchel will be the man in charge of England from the next international break and the latest odds give a 7/4 chance he will win a trophy in his time as England manager.”

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill also noted how England’s win, coupled with the Netherlands thrashing Hungary, were far from ideal results for bookmakers.

However, Israel’s (5/1) surprise 1-0 win at home to Belgium (11/20) was a positive for the operator.

Gill said: “Yet another international break to contend with at the weekend, England thrashing Ireland on Sunday seeing the punters finish the weekend with a bit of a bonanza. Other notable results were Netherlands beating Hungary 4-0 which was very, very bad for the book, while Belgium losing to Israel was very, very good.”

The weekend slate of sports kicked off with Mike Tyson returning to the ring to face YouTuber-turned- professional boxer, Jake Paul.

Streamed on Netflix, and not without technical difficulties for the company, Paul and Tyson went the distance with the Paul winning via unanimous decision in a bout that has been lamented by boxing pros and experts.

Gill pointed out that the fight going to the judges seemed the most obvious result but that didn’t stop punters putting money on a more decisive finish from either boxer, which allowed for a healthy margin for the bookmaker.

He added: “However, top of the weekend billing was ‘boxing’ between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.

“With the exception of Mayweather versus McGregor, this was our biggest boxing event by a fair distance, and while Jake Paul by decision seemed the almost inevitable outcome all things considered, punters were a bit more ambitious in hoping for a finish, and we ended up with a very healthy margin all told.”

With the final international break of the year in the books, football’s attention now turns to domestic action and the return of the Premier League.

League leaders Liverpool head to the South Coast to take on Southampton, where the now joint-favourite to win PFA Player of the Year, Mohamed Salah (10/3), will be looking to continue his impressive start to the season.

His rival for the prize, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (10/3), will be on show in the opening fixture of the weekend, when Leicester hosts the Blues at 12.30pm on Saturday.

Firkins said: “There’s a welcome return to Premier League action on Saturday with a reminder that Liverpool now head the outright market at 6/5. That’s mighty skinny, but they’ve been in terrific nick so far.”

Meanwhile, it was a bad weekend for operators at the races, with several favourites winning at Cheltenham across the weekend as the jumps season got underway.

Starting on Friday, favourites Double Powerful (3/1) and Jonbon (1/3) took the Lycetts Insurance Brokers Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle and Shloer Chase, respectively.

In Saturday’s opening race, the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle, favourite East India Dock (4/5) beat Static (8/1) and Torrent (33/1) before Patrick Mullins rode Transmission (11/4) to victory in the Steel Plate & Sections Ltd Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase.

Gill singled out the Arkle Challenge Trial as the worst result of the meeting for bookmakers, as favourite L’Eau du Sud (10/11) won with ease.

Gill said: “The first real showcase of the jumps season as the Cheltenham November meeting took place Friday to Sunday.

“Overall punters came out well ahead across the three days, with the Arkle Challenge Trial topping the turnover and being the worst result of the meeting as 10/11 favourite L’Eau du Sud breezed to a dominant victory.

“Burdett Road took the Unibet Greatwood Hurdle by half a length at 7/2, with the favourite back in third that was close enough to a draw in the book, while East India Dock and Doyen Quest were other notable losers in the book.”

However, in a sad turn of events, three horses collapsed and died on Sunday including Abuffalosoldier, who won the Holland Cooper Handicap Chase.

Firkins added: “Sunday’s visit to Prestbury Park was sadly marred by tragic incidents on the track, and everyone in and around racing feels those losses deeply.

“L’Eau Du Sud was imperious in the Arkle trial but at 10/1 for the big one in March it’s an indicator of the race’s sensational strength in depth. If he’s to prevail he’ll have to get past the likes of Ballyburn, Sir Gino, Firefox and Inthepocket – plus others.”

A British Horseracing Authority spokesperson said: “The losses of Abuffalosoldier, Bangers And Cash and Napper Tandy at Cheltenham are a tragedy for all connections and the thoughts of all of us at the BHA are with them.

“All three were provided with outstanding care and attention throughout their lives by those who cared for them and nobody will be more heartbroken tonight than those individuals.

“As with all fatalities, we will seek to understand the circumstances behind each incident as we strive to continue to reduce avoidable risk in our sport.”