England broke a national team winning record with their 5-0 drubbing of the Republic of Ireland in Lee Carsley's last match at the helm.
The interim head coach concluded his reign with the win that took the Three Lions back to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League at the first time of asking, although it was not a smooth ride all the way through.
England huffed and puffed in the opening 45 but could not find a way through a defence-heavy Ireland side, whose goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher did not face a single shot on target in a goalless first half.
However, the complexion of the game changed dramatically at the start of the second half, as Liam Scales - who was already on a yellow card - felled Jude Bellingham inside the box and was sent for an early bath.
Harry Kane clinically dispatched the resulting penalty, before Jarrod Bowen, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Anthony Gordon and Conor Gallagher all scored their first England goals in a second-half slaughter.
England achieve biggest margin of victory after scoreless first half
By putting five past 10-man Ireland without reply in the second 45 minutes, the Euro 2024 finalists set a new record for their biggest-ever win in a game that was goalless at half time.
In addition, not since 1930 had four different players all scored their first goals for England in the same game; Harry Burgess, Jimmy Hampson, Sammy Crooks and Eric Houghton did so against Northern Ireland 94 years ago.
The victory guaranteed that England would finish above Greece - who beat Finland 2-0 on the same evening - at the top of League B Group 2, thereby ensuring that they would not go through the rigmarole of a playoff next spring.
Carsley will now be passing the torch over to Thomas Tuchel, who officially starts his 18-month contract on January 1, and the 50-year-old is expected to head back down to the Under-21s, whom he won the European Championships with last year.
However, having masterminded five wins from six matches in charge of the Three Lions, the one aberration being a 2-1 home loss to Greece, Carsley has backed himself to take on another top international job in the future.
Carsley hints at return to international management after England stint
"I think it's given the staff and myself the confidence that we can do the job. You always doubt yourself whether you can do it or not," the former Ireland international told ITV Sport at full time.
"We often speak about a lot of England managers sat in the house picking the team and to have the responsibility to do that, the trust from my bosses has been a massive confidence. The main thing is what we've done, and we've got promotion."
Asked what his overriding emotion was after managing his final England game, Carsley replied: "I suppose relief. We wanted the England team to be exciting to watch, be attacking. I see them day in and day out in the training ground and now people have seen it.
"I don't think it's a gamble with some of these players, they're excellent players and the mentality is what stands out for them. Any challenge you put in front of them, they want to overcome. Like I've said in the past, especially with the Under-21 players, they have a history of winning and expect to win when they turn up for England."
Before Tuchel officially takes over as England head coach on January 1, the Three Lions will discover their opponents for the 2026 World Cup qualifying cycle when the draw is held on December 13. body check tags ::
