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England's first trip to the Republic of Ireland in 20 years passed off without incident on the pitch and in the stands as the two neighbours played out a goalless bore draw at the Aviva Stadium.
England boss Roy Hodgson said on the eve of the game that he was expecting an "electric" atmosphere, but there was barely a flicker of excitement from the stands during the match due to the poor quality football on display.
England started in an attacking 4-3-3 formation, but offered little up front with Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling particularly disappointing.
Daryl Murphy wasted two good opportunities to score in the first half and Joe Hart did well to save Jon Walters' fierce shot after the break.
England managed just three attempts on target in a match described by Paul Scholes as "a waste of an afternoon" .
They will end the season unbeaten if they avoid defeat to Slovenia next Sunday, but their supporters will demand a much-improved performance.
So who was to blame for the poor performance at the Aviva Stadium? Check out our player ratings below..
Show all 24 1 /24Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Keiren Westwood Unfortunately for Roy Hodgson the Irish keeper had absolutely nothing to do. Didn’t make one save of note, but generally looked assured and comfortable. 6
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Seamus Coleman Failed to provide the kind of dynamic attacking drive from the right that we are used to seeing at Everton, but he defended stoutly for the most part. 6
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings John O'Shea Marshalled his defence extremely well and hardly put a front wrong – although England hardly provided the biggest test he will have seen in his long career. 7
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Marc Wilson Made a couple of excellent recovery blocks when Raheem Sterling appeared to get half a yard on him, the Stoke man made one big error but England couldn’t capitalise. 7
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Robbie Brady Usually a winger, Brady was outstanding at full-back, not allowing Sterling any room when he tried to drift to the right; some excellent set-pieces too. 8
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Jeff Hendrick Worked hard but lacked a bit of quality on the ball in comparison to his teammates. Still, the Derby man helped keep England on the back foot. 6
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings James McCarthy The Everton man always wanted the ball and picked the right option more often than not, never allowing England’s midfielders to take control. 7
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Glenn Whelan Protected his back four perfectly, read the danger before it happened and was very neat and tidy when in possession. 8
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Aiden McGeady Ireland’s biggest threat going forward, McGeady gave Phil Jones a tough time on the left. He was also excellent in helping Brady deal with the threat of Sterling. 7
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings David McGoldrick One of the few people who looked like he actually wanted to play here; worked harder than anyone before coming off at half-time. 7
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Daryl Murphy The top scorer in the Championship this season showed some sharp movement to force Joe Hart into a good first-half stop; held the ball up well throughout. 7
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Best of the Bench: Jon Walters Stung Joe Hart’s palms with a thunderous effort that went straight at the keeper; the Stoke man worked hard, as one would expect. 6
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Joe Hart Made one very good save from Murphy – given as a goal-kick – but didn’t look his usual commanding self when high balls came into the box. 6
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Phil Jones A good defender but lacks the quality on the ball to be a right-back. Made one good first-half burst but his cross was poor with two waiting. 6
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Gary Cahilll Much more assured than his partner, the Chelsea man continued his fine end to the season with a solid performance. Stood tall under early pressure. 7
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Chris Smalling Struggled to deal with the physical presence of Murphy and was caught out badly for Ireland’s best chance. Will need to be better if he plays against Slovenia. 5
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Ryan Bertrand A solid afternoon’s work but will need to do much more if he is eventually to usurp Leighton Baines as Roy Hodgson’s first-choice. 6
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Jordan Henderson Too often played the easy, early ball forward when some more intricate passing would have served the team better. Was clever in covering Jack Wilshere’s forward runs. 5
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Jack Wilshire Easily England’s best and most positive player, although he isn’t quite 100 per cent sharp – Wilshere made a couple of loose passes but drove the team forward. 8
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings James Milner Worked as hard as ever and made a couple of nice passes, but the new Liverpool signing barely had an impact in the attacking third. 5
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Raheem Sterling Had spells on the right, left and in the centre but didn’t make his mark in any of them. Ireland doubled up on Sterling and gave him no space. 5
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Wayne Rooney His worst England game in a long time. Before he blew the best chance with an extremely heavy touch, he’d given the ball away a few times. 4
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Adam Lallana Looked better when he had drifted inside rather than wide on the left, Lallana had a couple of decent efforts but couldn’t make that final ball. 6
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Republic of Ireland 0 England 0 player ratings Best of the Bench: Andros Townsend Extremely positive when he came on in trying to beat his defender and force something. Put in a couple of good crosses and forced Shay Given into a decent save. 7
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Who was your man of the match? Let us know in the comments below.
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