Leah Williamson, the England captain, had joked that the best way to stop her Arsenal teammate Katie McCabe would be to make sure she didn’t get the ball, but starving the Republic of Ireland of possession was exactly what the Lionesses did on the way to a 2-0 win to kickstart their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign.

It wasn’t the prettiest of performances, but that dominance yielded first-half goals from the electric ­Lauren James and a cool penalty from Alex Greenwood that proved enough for England.

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“The first half, [we] were totally dominating,” Sarina Wiegman, the manager, said. “But we should have been up more. That was the dif­ference. If we win that ball, we really want to keep it and play out of the press and create our momentum again. That’s what we struggled with a bit [in the second half].

“What we did show as a team was that we really wanted to keep the clean sheet and were able to fight also. That’s what we will take into our next games, so I’m really happy with the win.”

After a tough 1-1 draw with Sweden last Friday, England needed a win to ensure they remained in contention for an automatic qualification spot for Switzerland next year.

It may seem slightly odd to pin so much on the second of six qualifying games, but with the Lionesses drawn in the “group of death” with the Euro 2022 semi-finalists France, the World Cup bronze medallists Sweden and the only team in pot four to have secured World Cup qualification, Ireland, there is little room for error. Only the top two teams will secure a finals place, with the teams in third and fourth entering playoffs.

With this win England sit ­second in the group on four points, with France leading on six, ­Sweden on one, and Ireland bottom after two defeats.

Wiegman swapped out five of the players who started against Sweden for this trip to Dublin. Most notably Hannah Hampton began in goal, meaning Mary Earps was missing from a competitive fixture for the first time since the 10-0 World Cup qualifying defeat of Luxembourg in September 2022. Williamson started for the first time since sustaining an anterior ­cruciate ligament injury last April, with the captain’s armband also returned to her, lining up in place of Lotte Wubben‑Moy.

For Eileen Gleeson there were two changes to the side that put on an impressive defensive display in a 1-0 defeat against France, with Emily Murphy and Megan Connolly ­making way for Ruesha Littlejohn and Lucy Quinn.

If there were fears that England might struggle against Ireland’s deep block they were banished quickly. It took just 12 minutes for the visitors to take the lead, Keira Walsh’s ball from the left headed down by Lucy Bronze at the far post; it took a kind touch, from an England perspective, off Anna Patten into the path of James, who stroked it past Courtney Brosnan.

Things went from bad to worse for the home team in front of more than 32,000 fans, when Jessica Park swung at the ball and sent it ricocheting off Littlejohn’s raised elbow for a ­penalty. Greenwood stepped up in the absence of the regular taker ­Georgia Stanway and slotted coolly in, with Brosnan going the wrong way.

Struggling to keep hold of the ball or create, with 28% possession and no shots in the first half, Ireland had some respite when Greenwood’s second spot‑kick – given just before the break after handball by Louise Quinn – hit the base of a post.

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The moment that brought the home fans’ biggest roar came in the 77th minute when McCabe’s free‑kick was pinged across the face of goal by Quinn only for Caitlin Hayes to fail to turn it in. Hayes tested ­Hampton with five minutes left, but she parried her header at the far post.

There was almost disaster for ­England moments later, when McCabe latched on to Hampton’s drop-kick on the edge of the box. The Ireland captain raced on to the loose ball but hit her effort straight at the recovering keeper. It was a fraught ending but England’s clinical first half was enough.

“We knew we had to come here tonight and win, which is why I’m so happy with it,” Williamson said. “I know that it wasn’t a convincing last 20 minutes but I’m very, very happy with three points.”