WEMBLEY WOE FOR WALES
ENGLAND 3 WALES 0
POOR defending cost Wales dearly as they were comfortably beaten by England at Wembley.
Dominic Calvert-lewin headed home his first international goal on what was his England debut to give Gareth Southgate’s side the lead somewhat against the run of play in the opening 45.
But the hosts soon found their swagger, and a second half effort from Conor Coady along with a stunning bicycle kick from Danny Ings earned the Three Lions a routine victory.
Wales’ focus now turns to their huge Nations League matches with Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria, with Ryan Giggs’ men looking to maintain their 100% winning start in the competition.
Giggs was without Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen as a trio for only the second time in his tenure as boss so far, with the 1-0 triumph over Trinidad & Tobago in March 2019 being the only other occasion in which all three of those stars were unavailable.
Wayne Hennessey moved level with legendary goalkeeper Neville Southall on 92 caps for Wales while Chris Mepham and Joe Rodon both returned at centre-back having missed the previous camp due to injury, with Ethan Ampadu moving into midfield as a result.
In the absence of Bale and Ashley Williams, Tottenham star Ben Davies captained the visitors in the English capital, with Rabbi Matondo being handed his first start for his country as part of an attacking three that included Tyler Roberts and Kieffer Moore.
Southgate also made numerous changes, with Nick Pope replacing Jordan Pickford in goal while Kieran Trippier wore the armband as Harry Kane was rested.
Calvert-lewin and Bukayo Saka were handed their debuts in what was a hugely inexperienced England starting lineup.
Giggs’ side went into the match having won their last four matches without conceding a single goal while also being unbeaten in their previous eight outings.
However, despite being devoid of stars including Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling and Kane, the Three Lions - who went into the game having not lost to Wales since 1984 - remained as firm favourites with bookmakers to emerge victorious.
In the buildup to the fixture, Giggs and his players were heavily grilled on the game’s tag of being a friendly, with the boss admitting the Nations League was his priority.
The lack of 90,000 supporters did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the players, and they wore black armbands in tribute to those who have lost their lives to the coronavirus, as well as to former international Keith Pontin and fan Mike Dye who passed away outside Wembley on Wales’ last visit to Wembley in 2011.
Wales looked comfortable in possession early on, and Moore once again provided his side with a focal point while Matondo caused a few problems with his pace.
However, it was the hosts that carried the greater threat, with Ings charging down a Hennessey clearance before Calvert-lewin’s tame shot was cleared by Mepham after the Everton man rounded the Wales goalkeeper.
The away side came close to going ahead midway through the opening half as the ball dropped nicely to Moore inside the box, although the Cardiff man volleyed just wide of Pope’s goal.
But just as the hosts looked to be
lacking in creativity, the impressive Jack Grealish found space on the right before picking out CalvertLewin who headed home his 10th goal of the campaign for club and country.
It was a cruel blow for Wales who, to their credit, responded well, and Pope had to be alert to deny Mepham from a corner before closing down Moore who was unable to pull the trigger after expertly controlling a long ball forward.
Moore then needed treatment after taking a knock as the Three Lions grew in confidence, with Coady firing over from inside the box just before the break.
Neco Williams then replaced
Moore who was unable to continue as the visitors went into the break a goal behind.
Wales had not won a match after conceding first since their famous Euro 2016 quarter-final triumph over Belgium.
And Tyler Roberts - who led the line in the absence of Moore - fired a shot wide shortly after the restart as Wales looked to respond after Ben Cabango and Dylan Levitt had replaced Rodon and Joe Morrell respectively.
But Wales’ defensive sloppiness proved costly once again on 53 minutes as Coady volleyed home Trippier’s free-kick to double England’s lead.
Matondo struck the inside of the post from an offside position before Southgate made a triple substitution, with Mason Mount, Tyrone Mings and Reece James all being summoned.
And it went from bad to worse for Wales just after the hour mark as Ings found himself in acres of space in the box before spectacularly firing an overhead kick beyond Hennessey.
Saka almost made it four, although his deflected strike was superbly saved by Hennessey.
Chris Gunter and Matt Smith replaced Connor Roberts and Jonny Williams respectively late on after substitute Will Vaulks fired well over, with Hennessey making another stunning save, this time to deny Ings.
And Wales were unable to register what would have only been a consolation strike as they lost for the first time since being beaten by Hungary in June 2019.
ENGLAND: Pope; Gomez (Mings 58), Coady, Keane; Trippier (C) (James 58), Phillips, Winks (Ward-prowse 75), Saka (Maitland-niles 75); Grealish (Barnes 75); Ings, Calvert-lewin (Mount 58). Subs not used: Henderson, Pickford, Rashford, Alexander-arnold, Maguire, Rice.
WALES: Hennessey; C Roberts (Gunter 73), Mepham, Rodon (Cabango 46), B Davies (C); Morrell (Levitt 46), Ampadu (Vaulks 62), J Williams (Smith 73); T Roberts, Moore (N Williams 39), Matondo. Subs not used: Ward, A Davies, Johnson, Norrington-davies, James, Woodburn. Yellow cards: C Roberts 42, Ampadu 58, Levitt 62
Referee: Bobby Madden