At Wembley, Madueke started on the right flank for England once again as the Three Lions secured the victory they needed to return to the top tier of the Nations League.

The first half against the Republic of Ireland was a largely drab affair, with Madueke trying to get England going, notably early on with a dazzling slalom run.

There were no shots on target from either side in the opening 45 minutes, but that all changed after the interval when Jude Bellingham was brought down inside the box. It signalled a second yellow card for Ireland defender Liam Scales, and a converted Harry Kane penalty that opened the floodgates.

Anthony Gordon quickly doubled the hosts’ lead before a Madueke corner was flicked on by Marc Guehi and turned in by Conor Gallagher for his first England goal.

Madueke was taken off with 15 minutes remaining and his replacement, Jarrod Bowen, got in on the act with his first touch. Another sub, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, then headed past beleaguered Irish keeper Caoimhin Kelleher to make it 5-0 England, and round off Lee Carsley’s interim reign in style.

Thomas Tuchel takes charge on the first day of next year, when England’s focus will turn towards qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Later on Sunday, Nkunku started for France in an impressive 3-1 victory away to Italy that earned them first place in Nations League Group A2.

Nkunku played in a front three alongside Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani at the San Siro, with Didier Deschamps’ side taking an early lead through Adrien Rabiot’s header.

France doubled their advantage on the half hour when Lucas Digne’s free-kick hit the crossbar, rebounded onto the back of Guglielmo Vicario and went in.

Italy responded immediately through Andrea Cambiaso’s volley, but Les Bleus continued to take the initiative after the break and a fierce Nkunku strike was repelled by Vicario as they sought to restore the two-goal lead that would secure them top spot.

It was Rabiot who did just that with another header from another Digne corner, and France held on so will meet a group runner-up in the Nations League quarter-finals in March.