Thomas Tuchel’s England maintained their positive momentum with a comfortable 3-0 win over Wales in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday night.
The Three Lions boss had been criticised for his squad selection for this month’s internationals, with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish among the high-profile absentees. But Tuchel wanted to build on the impressive win over Serbia in September – and his side did just that against their outclassed neighbours.
England blew Wales away in the first 20 minutes, with Morgan Rogers tucking in Marc Guehi’s cutback and Ollie Watkins tapping home at the back post before Bukayo Saka curled in a beauty to make it 3-0. It was the quickest England had reached that scoreline in 38 years.
Watkins – playing in place of the injured Harry Kane – should have had another, somehow diverting the ball over the bar from a yard out before painfully colliding with a post. That blow forced him off at the break, and Tuchel will hope to have one of his two out-and-out strikers fit and ready for Tuesday’s trip to Latvia.
That World Cup qualifier, and Wales’ key home game with Belgium on Monday, came to the fore in the second half, as a string of substitutions reduced the tempo after Rogers had hit the bar and David Brooks finally recorded a shot on target for the visitors on 56 minutes.
Jordan Pickford was alert to it, though, and then saved well from a Chris Mepham header. The England keeper hasn’t conceded at Wembley for a year; however, he wouldn’t have thanked his defenders for a couple of late lapses in concentration.
Tuchel said England would be ‘underdogs’ at the World Cup. This result won’t transform their prospects nor mean the big names will be permanently shut out. But after an underwhelming start, Tuchel’s England are beginning to put together performances to grow belief. They can seal a World Cup spot in Latvia if Serbia fail to beat Albania on Saturday.
More to follow.
