Many fans and neutrals will have underlined Ireland vs. England as one of the standout games of this Nations League campaign, in what was a first competitive meeting in over three decades.

Ireland were largely disappointing though, as England cruised to a 2-0 win in Dublin, and in a nightmare scenario for the Irish supporters, it was the two most unpopular people inside the Aviva Stadium who got the goals.

Declan Rice, who switched allegiance to England after representing Ireland in friendlies, and Jack Grealish, an Irish youth international, scored the first-half goals to put the game out of reach early on.

Had it not been for the heroics of Caoimhin Kelleher in the second half, the scoreline could have been much uglier for the Irish too, as the Liverpool stopper was on hand to keep England at bay numerous times in the second half.

That extended Ireland's run to nine defeats in 14 matches, with only three of those ending in victory, two of which came against Gibraltar.

Another defeat at home here would make relegation a very likely outcome, with trips to Wembley and Athens unlikely to end favourably.

After three straight third-place finishes in League B groups, Ireland's imminent future in the second tier could be under threat unless Hallgrimsson can make an immediate impact against the less powerful sides in the group.

That starts with Greece, but Ireland's recent record against their upcoming visitors is far from ideal, with one draw and four defeats in the five encounters between the two nations.

Their only previous competitive meetings came last year in Euro 2024 qualifying, as Greece came out on top in both, including winning 2-0 here in Dublin.

Greece would go on to fall at the final hurdle in their attempts to reach a first major tournament in a decade, losing to Georgia in the playoff final on penalties.

That major disappointment saw Gus Poyet relieved of his duties and replaced by Ivan Jovanovic, who made the perfect start in charge by beating Finland 3-0 on Saturday.

The new manager made a few big calls with his team selection, but it paid off, most notably starting Fotis Ioannidis up front instead of Benfica's Vangelis Pavlidis, as the Panathinaikos striker netted a brace.

After needing three attempts to make it out of League C, Greece are now in the second tier for the first time, and could make the perfect start ahead of a tricky test against England in October.