Festy Ebosele was again praised for his performance despite the Republic of Ireland’s nightmare second half as they were thrashed 5-0 by England.
The on-loan Watford wing-back was able to start the final Nations League B2 game at Wembley despite limping off against Finland on Thursday.
RTE gave the 22-year-old a rating of seven for his display in the 1-0 victory and he was given the same score again for his performance yesterday, the highest of the Irish starting XI.
The Irish broadcaster commented: “Fast becoming a fan favourite. Showed off his attacking abilities with a surging run down the right early on. Followed this up with an energetic skip through the English midfield which ultimately led to nothing.
“Got stuck in defensively during the first half but his head dropped with the rest of his team-mates in the second.”
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The Irish kept England at bay in a scoreless first half, but once Liam Scales was sent off for a second yellow card for bringing down Jude Bellingham in the penalty area, the floodgates opened after Harry Kane’s spot-kick as Anthony Gordon, Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis all scored their first England goals.
Rocco Vata was on the scoresheet as the Irish Under-21 side fared much better than their senior counterparts, beating Sweden 3-2 in their second friendly in Spain.
The Hornets youngster netted his side’s second goal just after half-time, finding the far corner after receiving an intricate pass from Jamie Mullins.
Vata was also involved in the third goal soon after, playing in Jacob Slater whose pass was converted by Mark O’Mahony.
On Saturday, Ken Sema played the full 90 minutes as Sweden beat Slovakia 2-1 to ensure their return to League B of the Nations League with goals from Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak.
Giorgi Chakvetzdze was replaced at the start of the second half as Georgia needed a second-half equaliser to draw 1-1 at home to Ukraine in Group B1.
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