England cruised to a dominant 3-0 victory against a dejected Wales in a friendly hosted at Wembley on Thursday night. The Aston Villa duo, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins, scored the openers, with Bukayo Saka netting a spectacular third in what was a complete performance.
Thomas Tuchel made 4 changes to the side that beat Serbia 5-0 a month ago, bringing in the likes of Saka, Spence and Stones with Watkins replacing the injured Harry Kane.
FIRST HALF
England were quick off the mark, displaying their dominance immediately. It took only 3 minutes for Morgan Rogers to open his account for England when Marc Guehi kept the ball in play on the byline and then played a simple pass to Rogers who hit a first-time finish past Darlow in the Welsh goal. This was the earliest Three Lions’ goal since Luke Shaw netted against Italy after two minutes in the Euro 2020 final.
There was little reprieve for Wales as England came forward eight minutes later. A scramble in the box eventually saw the ball bounce kindly towards Ollie Watkins at the back post, poking home the second goal of the game- the Aston Villa forward making the most of his chance leading the line for England.
Wales could not stand this constant barrage of attacks from England, and they soon paid for that. In the 20th minute Anthony Gordon beat Nico Williams in style down the left hand side with a nutmeg. The ball was eventually worked by Ezri Konsa to Bukayo Saka, who controlled the ball on the right hand side and after cutting inside, delivered a sensational strike into the top left hand corner. An unstoppable shot that marks his 13th goal for his country.
It could, and should have been four when Watkins failed to double his tally after a brilliantly constructed ball from Elliot Anderson found him at the back post once more. The Aston Villa forward unfortunately collided with the post and was eventually substituted off for Marcus Rashford.
Craig Bellamy’s Wales would tighten their defence from that point onwards as England would fail to increase their lead.
SECOND HALF
In the second half, Rogers came close to completing a brace as he cracked the bar with an impressive effort. Anthony Gordon almost scored a deserved goal after linking up with the substitute Miles Lewis-Skelly, but his effort was high and wide.
David Brookes and Mark Harris produced promising moments for Wales as they chased a recompense. Brookes, appearing at the back post in the 56th minute, caught the ball sweetly on the volley but was denied by Pickford in goal. The Welshman would be the catalyst for another attack 20 minutes later as he delivered a perfect cross with the outside of his boot onto the head of the substitute Mark Harris, but the resulting header sailed agonisingly over the bar.
England saw out a dominant display as the final whistle sounded. Thomas Tuchel’s side will now head to Riga where they will face Latvia in a World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday, whilst Wales will host Belgium on Monday. A tough challenge for Craig Bellamy’s side who will be hoping they can change their fortunes around against an in-form team.
Wales were louder though But!