Tyler Dibling scored for England Under-21s, but the Everton winger couldn't prevent his side from being beaten 3-1 by the Republic of Ireland at Turner's Cross in Cork on Tuesday night.
The Blues winger, who impressed in the weeks leading up to the international break, broke the deadlock after just seven minutes with a close-range finish. Lee Carsley's men, who had already qualified for the European Under-21 Championship as Group D winners, were pegged back by Tommy Lonergan before Conor McManus fired the hosts ahead just before half-time.
Late push falls short
Lonergan then secured all three points for Ireland just after the hour mark, while Noah Jauny made a great save to deny another Everton winger, Tyrique George, from reducing the deficit late on. George and a third Blues player, midfielder Harrison Armstrong, both came off the bench to play the final half-an-hour of the game.
“It definitely changed our intensity,” England U21s boss and former Everton midfielder Carsley said. “Our energy and effort were there, but in the back of our minds the job we’d set out to do we'd achieved. We still prepared exactly as we would if we needed to win, but we just lacked that little bit of quality, especially in front of goal. But having said that, Ireland blocked a lot of shots and the keeper made two or three very good saves, so they deserve credit for that. All the credit goes to Ireland and hopefully they can get through the play-offs now.”
Other Everton internationals
Elsewhere in under-21 international football, Braiden Graham played 84 minutes for Northern Ireland as they were beaten 1-0 by Greece, while Fraser Barnsley and Jack Patterson were unused substitutes.
Jordan Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Garner all featured for England as they ran out 3-0 winners over the Czech Republic at Wembley. Pickford started and played the full 90 minutes, while Branthwaite and Garner were both introduced at the same time just after the hour mark.
Harry Kane marked becoming England's joint record cap holder by netting twice, as Vladimir Coufal also scored an own goal. The night was one to remember for Kane, as he reached another significant England milestone by equalling Peter Shilton's 36-year-old record as the most-capped Three Lions player.
“Almost the perfect night to finish the camp for me,” the forward said. “A big night to equal the record and an extremely proud achievement to reach. As always, those achievements feel even better when you win the game and for me personally, to score a couple of goals as well, it is a nice night to celebrate now. Good performance, good win and a good way to end the camp.”
While Three Lions boss Tuchel said: "It's our fourth match in three or four days. It was a very good performance again and deserved win. Training and attitude, cohesion, belief. Of course, we didn't go out in the group stage [of the World Cup] and of course it made us stronger. We're on a high level, that's been throughout, that's how it is. You learn every day and go stronger through the matches."
