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LONDON (Reuters) – Three England players scored their first international goals to give Gareth Southgate’s experimental team a comfortable 3-0 win over Wales in a friendly at Wembley Stadium on Thursday.
Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in the 26th minute before second-half goals from Conor Coady and Danny Ings ensured victory in the preparation match for the Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark.
It was the first time that three players scored their first goals for England in the same match since June 1963 against Switzerland.
Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, making his first start for his country, prepared in the opening game with a perfect cross from the right that was greeted by rookie Calvert-Lewin with a signature header.
Right-back Kieran Trippier, England’s team captain, provided the ammunition for the second, launching a brilliant free kick from the right that was shot off the back post by the Wolves defender Coady.
It was another set piece that led to third, with Tyrone Mings getting up to head a corner kick through the penalty area and Ings flying home with a kick from above.
Both teams had several players missing from their rosters for the first international match at Wembley with no supporters, giving the game the feel of an old “B international”.
Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell, Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood missed the match after violating COVID-19 protocol regulations.
“I think the players did really well,” Southgate said. “It is very difficult for a new team to come together without a lot of experience, it was not fluid at first but we got into the game more and more, the players saw the tactical problems that Wales posed for us when they were pushing and I thought it finished strong.”
The England manager especially praised Calvert-Lewin, who has scored nine goals in six games for Everton this season.
“He had an excellent presence, his careers are a threat, he presses well and he got his goal well. He is a versatile center forward. I have always liked his general game but it is the goals that are making him a player of another level”, Southgate said.
England host Belgium on Sunday and Denmark on Wednesday in the Nations League, while Ryan Giggs’ Wales team travels to play Ireland and Bulgaria.
(Reporting by Simon Evans, edited by Ed Osmond)
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