England vs Australia: England on Friday won their friendly match 1-0 against Australia at the Wembley Stadium. Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa scored the only goal of the match in the 57th minute through an assist from former clubmate Jack Grealish.
Gareth Southgate’s side overcame Scotland 3-1 in last month’s match between the old rivals and have now won five of six games since their quarter-final exit at last year’s World Cup in Qatar. The Three Lions’ perfect record in Euro 2024 qualifying may have come to an end with a 1-1 draw against Ukraine last month, but they are ranked fourth in FIFA’s World Rankings, compared to 27th-placed Australia. Gareth Southgate named an experimental England lineup. Sam Johnstone started in goal, Watkins led the line up front, while Colwill made his senior debut at left-back. Another uncapped newcomer, Nketiah, started on the bench. The Three Lions’ most notable injury absentee this week is Bukayo Saka, who has been sidelined by a hamstring problem.
Captained by former Brighton and Arsenal goalkeeper Ryan, Australia named Asia-based duo Duke and Goodwin in their attack. Meanwhile, England-born Strain was handed his first start at right-back. Middlesbrough midfielder Riley McGree was forced to withdraw from the Socceroos squad, so Aiden O’Neill of Standard Liege was called up and took a place on the bench.
England started the game brightly but were unable to break down a rigid Australian defence. Australia on the other hand had quite a few opportunities for themselves but were let down by some poor finishing.
After a barren first half, the game sparked to life in the second half when Ollie Watkins scored from a tap-in. Alexander-Arnold slung over a cross from the right side towards Grealish in the box. The latter took the ball down with his first touch and flashed it across to the back post with his left foot. Watkins slid in and put England in front.
England vs Australia XI
England XI – Sam Johnstone; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fikayo Tomori, Lewis Dunk, Levi Colwill; Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson; Jarrod Bowen, James Maddison, Jack Grealish; Ollie Watkins.
Australia XI – Mat Ryan; Ryan Strain, Harry Souttar, Cameron Burgess, Kye Rowles; Martin Boyle, Keanu Baccus, Jackson Irvine, Craig Goodwin; Connor Metcalfe; Mitchell Duke.
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