Recently, Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone revealed his ambition to display a good performance against England in his debut international match for the Republic of Ireland. Although Smallbone made an impressive performance in that match, England took the three points with goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish in a 2-0 win. In the following match against Greece, Republic of Ireland started well in the first half, but Fotis Ioannidis and Christos Tzolis scored in the second half which made it two consecutive defeats for Republic of Ireland in the Group B of the UEFA Nations League.
Despite another 2-0 defeat, Smallbone was the best player for Republic of Ireland in the game and won the Man of the Match Award as well. After the match, Smallbone revealed that he didn't expected to get the award and reflected on the defeat, saying,
Southampton midfielder brilliant despite defeat in Nations League
"I’m probably as embarrassed as anyone, receiving a man of the match award when we’ve lost a game.Will Smallbone
It hurts us every time that we can’t give the fans a result and something back for their unwavering support of us. But I believe that we will in the near future."
Against Greece, Smallbone completed 31 out of 40 passes throughout the match and made two tackles in order to win the ball possession and try to find a goal to make a comeback. However, that wasn't the case and now Smallbone will return to Southampton after this international break and will turn his attention to the Premier League where Russell Martin's side face Manchester United in a massive home fixture at the St. Mary's Stadium. After three defeats in the first three league matches, Southampton will aim to take a draw from this game and take a good momentum for the upcoming matches.
Some lineup changes are expected, thus, it remains to be seen whether manager Russell Martin implements a different tactical setup for this match.