England 3-0 Wales
by Layth Yousif 
at Wembley Stadium

THOMAS TUCHEL’S England eased to victory over a desperately limited Wales side in front of 78,126 fans at Wembley, on an evening when the former Chelsea boss criticised home supporters for failing to create an atmosphere at the national stadium.

A three-goal blitz in the opening 20 minutes was enough to beat Craig Bellamy’s side, as strikes from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka emphasised the gap between the two teams.

Speaking after the match, Tuchel opted to focus on berating Three Lions fans, saying: “The stadium was silent. Silent. We never got any energy back from the stands.

“I think the players delivered a lot to get more from the stands,” the German head coach said, adding: “It was difficult to keep everything going in the second half. We did excellent, we deserved to win.”

On whether he expected more from the England fans, Tuchel replied: “Yes. What more can you give them? Twenty minutes, three goals. The way we attacked Wales and we didn’t let them escape.

“If you hear for half an hour [it was] just Wales fans. It’s a bit sad because I think the team deserved big support.”

Despite the relentless noise coming from Wales’s 7,000 travelling supporters in north-west London, on a night when both sets of supporters booed their counterparts anthems before kick-off, the game was effectively over as a contest after only 180 seconds – when Rodgers put England ahead, after good work by Marc Guehi in cutting the ball back from the line, following Declan Rice’s initial cross.

Crystal Palace’s ever-impressive Guehi doubled his assist tally a mere eight minutes later, when turning provider with a close-range flick-on for striker Watkins to make it 2-0 on the line.

Worse was to come for Bellamy’s shell-shocked Wales side, when Arsenal attacker Saka scored with a cracker to make it 3-0 after a mere 20 minutes had elapsed. The 24-year-old notching his 13th goal for his country in only his 45th match, to become the highest scoring Arsenal player in England colours.

Saka’s Gunners team-mate Rice — who was stand-in England captain during Harry Kane’s absence — nearly made it four shortly afterwards but his angled free-kick flew narrowly over the beleaguered Karl Darlow’s bar.

Such was England’s dominance, Watkins collided with the post when it looked easier to score when the Aston Villa striker failed to make true contact with the ball, when only a matter of inches away from the line. Watkins looked shaken during a spell of treatment, and was substituted for Marcus Rashford during the interval.

Tuchel’s side continued in the same vein after the break, with Rodgers nearly making it four, but his drive clipped the top of the crossbar.

The match petered out as a meaningful contest amid a raft of substitutions as both sides settled on the result, which ensured Wales have now lost their last eight matches against England stretching back to 1984, failing to win at Wembley since 1977. No wonder the underemployed Jordan Pickford posted a record-breaking eighth clean sheet in a row as England keeper.

After seven wins from the last eight matches, England can achieve their first objective of the Tuchel era by qualifying for the 2026 World Cup by beating Latvia in Riga on Tuesday, while Bellamy faces another tough clash, this time against Belgium in Cardiff, with next summer’s participation at the global jamboree on the line.