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Three players scored their first goals for England (Calvert-Lewin, Coady and Ings), the first time since June 1963 against Switzerland (Tony Kay, Johnny Byrne and Jimmy Melia).
England manager Gareth Southgate was finally left with the right kind of headache after Wales were comfortably sacked in a friendly at Wembley.
It hasn’t been the easiest year for Southgate, the carefully cultivated image of his squad dented by a series of off-the-field incidents and turning into some decidedly colorless performances on England’s return after the coronavirus lockdown.
England needed a lift, and it came here in packages amid the surreal atmosphere of an empty Wembley.
Southgate’s 12 months of unwanted distractions began with the downfall of Raheem Sterling after his altercation with Joe Gomez at St George’s Park, and then saw him remove Harry Maguire from a squad following the defender’s arrest in Greece.
It also had to send Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood home for violating Covid-19 guidelines in Iceland, and this week it excluded Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell, and Jadon Sancho for not following government rules in preparation for the match of Welsh.
Southgate deserved the chance to finally talk about good things at his England camp and had a lot to do here, including a debut goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and an exciting display from Jack Grealish.
And to add to Southgate’s delight, it was all done with an inexperienced England, with the starting eleven having just 54 games between them.
- Match report: England 3-0 Wales
Complete Calvert-Lewin Dominic Calvert-Lewin became the 188th player to score in his England debut and the first Everton player to do so since Fred Pickering in 1964
Calvert-Lewin is on a hot streak and looks every inch like the complete striker. Against Wales he capped off a great display with his tenth goal of the season, with a header from a Grealish cross.
Although only 23 years old, England have high hopes for the Sheffield-born forward since 2017, when he scored the winning goal in the U-20 World Cup final against Venezuela.
Not everything has been easy, but Calvert-Lewin is now full of confidence and poses a serious threat every time he plays.
His attitude has never been in doubt, but under the direction of Everton coach Carlo Ancelotti and assistant Duncan Ferguson, he has matured without any recognition and is now an ever-present goal threat, healing the only major flaw in his game until the last months.
The decision to rest Captain Harry Kane, along with the absence of Greenwood, Abraham and Sancho, cleared the way for Calvert-Lewin to lead the England line, and he seized his opportunity in style.
Calvert-Lewin has made his way into contention, not as Kane’s rival, but as a highly talented alternative.
Danny Ings was impressive too, scoring with an aerial kick to underscore England’s strength up front, which also includes options like Marcus Rashford and the injured Sterling.
This is the kind of problem Southgate will appreciate. It is a shame of riches.
Grealish finally convinces
England’s other big winner was Grealish, who for a long time seemingly struggled to convince Southgate of his worth internationally. Villa’s playmaker was only called up for the first time for the Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark after the withdrawals of Harry Winks and Rashford.
Grealish made a spirited 14-minute cameo in Copenhagen, but here he was in his element against a Wales undoubtedly underpowered, creating trouble everywhere for Ryan Giggs’ team as a goal-maker, winning free kicks in areas. out of danger and showing the kind of confidence he has been showing in the last two seasons at Aston Villa and in his impeccable start to this season.
It remains to be seen, like Calvert-Lewin, how his immediate future in England unfolds, but this is the kind of performance that will surely mean his place on the squad is now secured.
Southgate will have enjoyed other aspects of the performance as well, from the spirited debut of Arsenal teenager Bukayo Saka to England’s first goal and another very clever performance from Ings, whose strike was a masterpiece of technique and athleticism.
There were only 54 caps among England’s starting XI players before kickoff, the fewest for an international since May 1980, when the XI of a match against Australia had only 46 matches between them.
Burnley’s Nick Pope made sure of the goal, reminding him that he’s there in case Jordan Pickford’s erratic Everton form is transferred to England. For now, Pickford retains Southgate’s trust because he has never let his international manager down.
Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips was confident in midfield, while even Southgate’s smile was overtaken by Conor Coady’s. Has there ever been an England striker more delighted than the Wolverhampton Wanderers captain when he swept home Kieran Trippier’s free kick?
It was a wonderful moment for the defender who rarely interrupts the opposing goal, having only had one shot in his previous 156 games with the Wolves. It was a goal taken for sure.
This was a good night for England and Southgate, but now they face the kind of test that brought them down in the past when Belgium, number one in the FIFA world rankings, came to Wembley in the Nations League.
Belgium will be a much more realistic measure of this England team, but reflections on this victory can only be positive and no one will be more grateful for that than Southgate.
Source: bbc.com
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