Wes Brown's Rep. of Ireland v England Prediction & Preview

Speaking exclusively to BoyleSports, former England international and Man United stalwart Wes Brown previews the Republic of Ireland v England in the Nations League.

Saturday’s game at the Aviva Stadium between two old foes is eagerly anticipated as both teams will have new faces in the dugout. Former Irish international Lee Carsley will be taking over the Three Lions as the interim manager while Heimir Hallgrímsson will take charge of the Republic of Ireland for the first time after a drawn-out search for the country’s new coach ended with a surprise name taking the helm.

Brown talks to us about what he expects the atmosphere to be like, why one team should be too good for their opponents and his score prediction.

The former Man United defender also talked to us about his ex-teammate John O’Shea and why he is backing him to get the national team job one day, the future at centre back for England and what Roy Keane was really like off the pitch.

Ireland vs England will be hostile – but Three Lions will come out 2-0 winners

I’m looking forward to Ireland vs England, we don’t see it often and I’m sure it will be very hostile.

I can see a tight game with both sides having new managers. It'll be good to see Lee Carsley’s team and his style, but I do think England will get the job done.

I think the team has just got too much talent for Ireland at the moment, Ireland have got a lot of young lads coming in but to go out there and beat the big, big teams, I’m not quite sure if they are there yet.

The England team are very experienced now, especially with the last three big tournaments they've been in. It will be a close game but I’m going for 2-0 to England.

Prediction: Rep. of Ireland 0-2 England

Former Teammate John O’Shea Has What It Takes To Get Irish Job In Future

I would’ve loved Ireland to have appointed John O’Shea as the full manager and hopefully one day he does get the job. He's been an assistant now at a few different places and obviously he's very happy with Ireland as well.

He led them in a couple of games and they actually did very well. I know Portugal beat them but they should’ve beaten Belgium.

He's got a little bit of experience there which I think always helps. He's still on the staff so hopefully in the future I can see him being a manager.

Marc Guehi Should Be John Stones’ Permanent CB Partner for England

Next to John Stones I’d like to see Marc Geuhi. He has been brilliant. We have seen him play week in and week out but seeing him do it for England at Euro 2024 was excellent.

He’s quick, he has great concentration levels. He deserves to be in the team and playing next to John Stones in this new era.

We Didn’t See Roy Keane off the Pitch – He Was Always at Home!

Roy Keane off the pitch? We didn’t see him as he would’ve been at home! But in all seriousness, he was just like he is as a pundit, he tells you things straight and that’s why he was the captain of a team that was winning so much.

He knows what it takes to win. If you weren’t playing at your level he would tell you about it and he’d also keep your feet on the ground. He made you understand that you had to be at your very best to play for United. It’s as simple as that.

Roy Keane Fell Out of Love With Managing but He’ll Be a Great Appointment

I'm pretty sure he’d be strict as a manager because he knows what it takes to win. He's been a manager before and I'm sure he's learnt a few things as well along the way that can and can't work and how to keep the squad together.

Ultimately, I think if he goes back into management now, I think he's got that experience and he'd be able to deal with it.

I mean, look at what he did with Sunderland when he brought them into the Premier League.  He was very good that season and was obviously doing something right.

Ultimately, he fell out of love with managing a little bit but I think he'd be a brilliant appointment for a team to have. He can get the best out of players and he’d still be excellent at it.

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