England Will Struggle to Learn Much from Friendly with Ireland's Focus Elsewhere

For the Republic of Ireland, a trio of international derbies (has such a run of fixtures ever been arranged before?) sees the tension and stakes escalate incrementally with each passing test—culminating in next week’s vital European Championship qualifier against Scotland.

On Thursday, Martin O’Neill’s side hosted Northern Ireland in a behind-closed-doors training match, a carefully managed tune-up ahead of Sunday’s big friendly against England. Then Gordan Strachan’s team come to Dublin: A game that has potentially huge ramifications for both nations’ chances of qualifying for next summer’s Euros in France.

For England, however, the dynamic is completely different. Six points clear atop Group E, next Sunday’s qualifier in Slovenia is certainly a chance to accelerate toward what feels like inevitable qualification, but an unlikely defeat would be far from disastrous.

With five wins from five so far in qualification, it looks increasingly likely that the year-long process will not yield any genuine challenges to Hodgson’s squad. It's unlikely that there will be any surprising obstacles to overcome and thus learn something from in the process, leaving the Three Lions lacking in the sort of competitive match experience that will prove crucial come the tournament itself.

That is where the Ireland friendly perhaps comes in. It's a rare international meeting in which the historical tension and local rivalry involved will elevate the match toward becoming an intimidating experience for England players who may have become slightly complacent. This could be a result of facing substandard opponents in competitive games and going through the motions with teams of a similar standard in friendly games.

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That is unlikely to be the case on Sunday. The last time these two countries met in Dublin, 20 years ago, the game was abandoned after 20 minutes when a section of fans began rioting in response to Jack Charlton’s side taking the lead and an England equalizer subsequently being disallowed.

While such scenes are something no one wants to see again (although observers can presumably expect England’s national anthem to be booed vociferously), a measure of that passion would elevate the meeting beyond the usual throwaway fare that international friendlies can be.

"I call it a debacle because that's exactly what it was," O’Neill told the BBC this week, when asked about that 1995 game. "It's still a big game but hopefully life has moved on since then."

Charlton, a World Cup winner with England in 1966 and then the Republic of Ireland’s coach for their memorable 1994 World Cup run, is expected to attend Sunday’s game, his status as a mutually adored figure perhaps used to ease any tensions inside the ground (the early kick-off, along with the limited number of tickets made available to away fans, will also help with that). Nevertheless, the game might be as feisty as many anticipate.

As O’Neill added: "We have a big game against Scotland the following week and, barring injury, [the England game] will be great preparation for us considering some of the players will not have played for about a month.

"Fitness is what this week is all about, building up to the England friendly game and then forcing it against Scotland."

For the hosts, the game is not a priority. Fitness is certainly an issue for O’Neill, with more of his squad drawn from the Championship (which, other than for play-off participants, has been finished for a few weeks now) than England’s. Roy Hodgson will surely be concerned at the inference, however: That Ireland are using this friendly as a warm-up and will not pose their strongest-possible challenge.

During his time as England coach, Hodgson has shown himself to be surprisingly sensitive to how the media react to anything he says or does, and so a part of him may be relieved to hear that beating Ireland this weekend (the two countries drew 1-1 when they met at Wembley two years ago) may just have gotten a little easier. But this England team needs to be properly stretched and tested before the Euros roll around next summer, and Sunday’s game in Dublin is a rare possibility for that to happen.

“We have got England up first in a friendly, but I suppose in our eyes there is only one big game this summer and that is Scotland,” Ireland full-back Seamus Coleman said, per the Daily Star. “There will be a great atmosphere for the England game, there always is. England will bring a few over and our fans always support us well.

“We are using that as buildup to our main game against Scotland where we need the three points.”

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That rather suggests we will see Ireland making full use of FIFA rules that permit six substitutions in international friendlies, and Hodgson will probably respond in kind (as he did in the recent meeting with Italy). Such overhaul inevitably robs games of any fluency or rhythm as the personnel changes so significantly, something that played into England’s hands when they grabbed a late draw in Turin (and obscured the fact that, for most of the game, the Three Lions were outplayed).

That comes with benefits and drawbacks: The games themselves lose value as educational exercises, but gain usefulness as opportunities to blood fresh faces or give fringe members an opportunity to integrate. On Sunday that could mean debuts for forwards Charlie Austin and Jamie Vardy, although Hodgson has previously seemed loath to give new members of his squad a first cap in their very first training camp (both Saido Berahino and Nathaniel Clyne previously had to wait for their first chance).

It would seem likely Hodgson will at least start with something approaching his preferred XI, giving his starters a taste of playing with pride on the line.

"It really gets you going when the crowds are really up for it,” Clyne, who is likely to start at right-back but is still to establish himself at this level, told Sky Sports. He added: "The beach can wait for now. I relish the opportunity of these games and look forward to it.

"With the whole nation on your side willing you and wanting you to do well, it is extra pressure, but I know I can deal with it."

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If former non-league players Austin and Vardy then make their debuts, that would give journalists something to write about, even if there remains a certain amount of skepticism over whether either player will still be involved once other players have returned from injury or under-21 duty.

“I'd like to think it gives people hope that if they work hard they can achieve their dreams,” said Austin (per the Daily Mail). “My dream is coming true through hard work and it proves it can be a goal for those people coming through in non-league and the lower leagues that maybe they can go on and play for the national team.

“I'm delighted to be here. Pressure helps some people and it certainly helps me. I'm trying to take it all in and do what I do best, work hard and try to score goals. Everyone's welcomed me and they've been great.”

With qualification for the Euros almost a foregone conclusion at this point, what England need now are fiery games against competitive opponents that stress-test the squad and offer Hodgson insights into where the weaknesses really are, information he can then use to try to address them.

On paper, Sunday’s match against Ireland would seem a perfect game—the slight inferiority of the opposition more than made up for by an intimidating atmosphere not often seen in international football.

External factors are against both sides, however, and it would seem Hodgson is unlikely to learn much from this game that he does not already know.