England ease to comfortable friendly win over Wales
England 3 - 0 Wales
A fairly straightforward evening for England as they prepared for their upcoming qualifier against Latvia.
Author | Lauren W
Stadium | Wembley Stadium
Head coach Thomas Tuchel kept faith with the squad that delivered his most emphatic victory, a 5-0 win over Serbia in Belgrade, and they produced another commanding performance.
England overwhelmed Wales in the opening stages, taking a three-goal lead within 20 minutes.
Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers extended his fine form from the Serbia game by converting Marc Guehi’s cross after just four minutes. Club team-mate Ollie Watkins, deputising for the injured captain Harry Kane, doubled England’s advantage from close range seven minutes later.
Bukayo Saka then became Arsenal’s highest England goalscorer with a brilliant strike, curling his left-foot shot high past Wales goalkeeper Karl Darlow to register his 13th international goal.
Rogers also struck the woodwork after the break. Although Wales improved as England’s tempo eased, Tuchel’s side secured a routine yet impressive victory.
The Three Lions now prepare to face Latvia in Riga on Tuesday, while Wales will host Belgium in Cardiff on Monday.
Craig Bellamy now turns his attention to vital match against Belgium
As eagerly anticipated as any meeting between these neighbours might be, the real focus for Wales was always the forthcoming game against Belgium.
Craig Bellamy had chosen to face England in this friendly to test his players against world-class opposition and prepare them for future major tournaments. Yet with his side three goals down inside 20 minutes, he may have questioned that decision.
Wales were completely overrun by a rampant England. Rather than pressing high and attacking with intensity, as Bellamy demands, they sat deep and struggled to escape their own half.
The head coach had named a strong line-up, reflecting how seriously he took the fixture, but the first half was among the most disappointing of his tenure, friendly or not.
There was a slight improvement after the break as Bellamy withdrew several key players to keep them fresh for Belgium, and the substitutes brought much-needed energy and urgency to what had been a flat performance.
By that stage, though, the contest was long beyond Wales’ reach. The 7,000 or so travelling fans at Wembley remained in fine voice regardless, waving their shirts and creating a buoyant atmosphere despite the scoreline.
The real test will come on Monday. Only after the World Cup qualifier against Belgium will Wales know whether this Wembley experiment was worth it.
Tuchel’s squad decision-making has been vindicated
This was another resounding win, built on a blistering opening period that showcased the intensity and attacking variety missing from the early stages of Thomas Tuchel’s reign.
Much has been made of Tuchel’s decision to omit Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, despite the midfielder’s desire to play, yet Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers justified that call with another outstanding performance.
Rogers opened the scoring with his first England goal, played a part in Ollie Watkins’ second, and struck the woodwork before being withdrawn after 69 minutes.
It was also a landmark night for Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who surpassed both his and Gordon Banks’ record of seven successive clean sheets for England. The record was sealed with fine second-half saves from David Brooks and Chris Mepham.
