Key events
FULL TIME: England 3-0 Wales
England win their seventh game in eight under Thomas Tuchel.
90 min +2: Rashford prepares to shoot from the edge of the Wales D, but Bowen had handled earlier in the move and the whistle goes. Meanwhile on the touchline, Thomas Tuchel and Craig Bellamy embrace, and enjoy a joke. There’s nice.
90 min +1: Koumas has another look at Spence down the left again, and wins another corner. Brooks hits it long but Sheehan, in his desperation to control a ball rearing up, and take aim in the hope of scoring a consolation, handles.
90 min: There will be three additional minutes.
88 min: Wales stroke it around the back. They’ll be desperate to hold England in this second half. It would provide some much-needed succour after that difficult first 45.
86 min: The Welsh travelling choir making all of the noise now. Their team have put in a much more acceptable shift in this second half. Although let’s be honest, those famous fans would be singing their hymns and arias anyway.
84 min: Koumas drives down the left and wins a corner off Spence. Brooks, who has been highly decent in this second half, pings the set piece onto Rodon’s head, but the Wales defender can’t keep his header down.
82 min: Now Gordon exchanges passes with Lewis-Skelly down the left, enters the box, cuts inside, and aims a curler towards the top right. Always wide, always high.
81 min: Bowen releases Gordon down the left channel. Gordon enters the box and shoots, but Rodon is across to block. He’s made a few crucial stops this evening.
80 min: Stones is replaced by Lewis-Skelly.
78 min: In a parallel universe somewhere, Wales have scored three goals in this second half. The small margins between an extremely unpalatable scoreline for them, and a comeback for the ages. For all England’s dominance, etc.
77 min: … and Harris’s first touch should be a goal! Brooks finds him in the middle with a lovely outside-of-boot cross from the right. Harris has a free header, but powers it over the bar from six yards.
76 min: Wales make a double change, replacing the ineffective front two of Moore and Johnson with Koumas and Harris.
74 min: Pickford has had next to nothing to do this evening. But he’s been called upon twice, and on both occasions has made fine saves. “My long-dead Welsh maternal grandmother Marguerite has made contact from ‘the other side’ during the second half,” begins Kimberley Thonger promisingly. “She says that as her maiden name was Morgan she feels that Morgan Rogers must really be Welsh and the score should be 2-1 not 3-0.”
72 min: Spence is booked for cynically bundling over an in-flight Kpakio. Brooks sends the resulting free kick into the England box on the diagonal, and Mepham stoops to guide a fine diving header towards the bottom-right corner. Mepham’s attempt to replicate Keith Houchen’s famous goal for Coventry in the 1987 FA Cup final – at the same end – is scuppered by Pickford, who makes a superb diving stop.
70 min: As if to emphasise how this game has drifted from its status of high-octane local derby into tepid friendly, England respond to Wales’ triple change with a quadruple swap of their own. Rice, Saka, Rogers and Anderson make way for Henderson, Loftus-Cheek, Gibbs-White and Bowen. Henderson takes the captain’s armband from Rice.
68 min: Another England corner. A bit of a kerfuffle in the Wales box. Stones takes it too far. The whistle goes. This match was pure tincture of intensity in the first half, but now it’s thin friendly gruel.
66 min: The game becomes a little shapeless, and the fans are making their own entertainment right now. The Wales end with one beautiful noise. “Scotland have won 12-0 tonight in qualifying. Fact.” Yes, Simon McMahon, they have. But if we’re playing that game, then let’s also take this opportunity to take hats off to world champions Wales.
64 min: Wales make a triple change, replacing Davies, Ampadu and Wilson with Mepham, Sheehan and Kpakio. “Craig Bellamy has barely put a foot wrong since being appointed,” argues Matt Dony. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t have high expectations, and he wasn’t my first choice. But I was spectacularly wrong. He’s been tactically astute, humble, fantastic in front of journalists, and the players sound like they’ve really enjoyed working with him. But, fundamentally, England are just much better, aren’t they? Annoyingly so.”
63 min: Wales will be happy enough with their attempts to keep England at arm’s length since the restart.
61 min: Rice, Gordon and Anderson over-elaborate at the corner, and Wales take the opportunity to push the play back up the pitch.
60 min: Saka drops a shoulder to make a little space down the right, but his eventual shot is blocked by Dasilva’s lunge. But here comes another corner. Rice to take.
59 min: Nope, Manchester City fans worry not, Stones – who suffered a heavy landing – is back on and wandering about without a care in the world.
57 min: After that brief brouhaha in the England box, Stones stays down and requires a little treatment. He’s back up soon enough, but trudging around the edge of the pitch in a manner which suggests he’s about to be hooked as a precaution.
56 min: Wales finally put Pickford to work! Williams, deep on the right, swings a diagonal into the England box. Brooks meets the dropping ball with a sidefooted volley, forcing Pickford to kick away. Fine reaction stop. The rebound finds Moore, who flaps an eyebrowed header over the bar. Finally a little something for the 7,500 travelling Welsh fans to cheer.
54 min: … and so England go back to stroking it around the back insouciantly.
52 min: … the ball’s worked back up the right to Saka, who pings Rogers free into the box down the channel. Rogers hits a rising diagonal drive that beats Darlow but smacks off the crossbar and away. Would that have counted? Was Rogers offside? It was tight. Either way, it was a hell of a shot.
51 min: Cullen miscontrols, gifting Gordon the chance to barrel his way down the right. He’s got Rashford waiting to tap home in the middle, but clanks his cross straight at Rodon, who for his part did all he could to deflect behind. Then from the corner …
50 min: … so having just said that, the pace of play significantly drops for the first time this evening, as England stroke it around the back insouciantly. Pulitzer, please!
48 min: England have come out sniffing more goals. Spence takes a shot that’s blocked, then Rashford nearly bursts into the Wales box from the left flank. Not quite. But the hosts aren’t in the mood to stop at 3-0, it would seem.
47 min: Both teams are now sporting shirts without names on the back. That’s to help raise awareness of dementia, as part of the FA’s link-up with their official charity partner, the Alzheimer’s Society. You can read more about this on the official England Football website.
Wales get the second half started. England have made a change, taking no chances with Watkins after the striker’s collision with the goal-frame. Rashford comes on in his place.
Half-time postbag. “Friendly ? There is no friendship between the Welsh and English, you only have to look to Twickenham or the Millennium to understand that. Or better still, Offa’s Dyke. Built by King Offa (the greatest king before Alfred the Great) to keep the heathen Welsh out and the sanctity of Harry Kane in. I grew up in the borderlands of Shropshire/Montgomeryshire, they hated us and we hated them. Didn’t stop us enjoying their countryside or them enjoying our open pubs on Dry Sundays (ask your dad). Owain Glyndŵr will have his vengeance another day” – Jeremy Boyce
“Will Craig Bellamy be the first person shown the red card tonight?” – Tony Hughes
“Ian Rush always looks like he’s been slapped by laverbread” – Tim Stappard
“I’m afraid Craig Bellamy will have to go the full Michael Sheen at halftime” – Peter Oh
HALF TIME: England 3-0 Wales
England with a stirring and skilful display packed with energy, enthusiasm and emotion. Wales couldn’t cope with their … there’s no other word for it … hwyl.
45 min +2: The corner’s hit long, and Guehi can’t quite connect with his header at the far stick. The ball sails harmlessly wide.
45 min +1: Not for the first time this evening, Gordon twists the blood of Williams down the left. Corner. Rice to take. Another goal here would put the tin lid on a nightmare half for Wales, and a glorious one for England.
45 min: There will be two additional first-half minutes. Incidentally, Watkins is back into the heat of the action. Good to see after that brief scare.
44 min: … but Wales come again, and for the first time this evening, apply a little pressure to the England defence. There’s some pinball in the box, and a bit of head tennis, Moore in the epicentre of the rumble, but England eventually hack clear. For the first time this evening, Wales have given the hosts something to think about. Not a great deal, admittedly, with no effort on goal, but small acorns and all that.
43 min: Wilson hoicks a long-range shot high and wide. Pickford still has had nothing to do.
42 min: Watkins smacked into the woodwork with his knee. He looks in serious pain … but thankfully he’s soon up and about again, the pain of impact subsiding quickly. A huge relief, because for a brief moment that didn’t look good.
40 min: Rogers slips Anderson into the box down the inside-right channel. Anderson swivels and whistles a low cross through the six-yard box. Watkins slides in and surely must score, but somehow shins the ball wide and clatters into the left-hand post himself. That would usually be comical, but it looks as though Watkins has hurt himself. His team-mates wave for medical assistance.
38 min: Rogers finds Rice striding down the inside right channel. Rice breaks into the box and looks for Watkins in the middle, but Rodon clears and in any case England’s stand-in captain had gone too early and the flag pops up for offside.
36 min: To give Guehi fair measure, he certainly tried his best to pull out of that challenge. Certainly clumsy, but not intentional. The gesture possibly saved him from further censure. Anyway, Moore is thankfully fine to continue, and nothing comes of the resulting free kick.
34 min: Guehi miscontrols in the centre circle and lunges into Moore. He just about pulls out of committing a scissor challenge on the striker’s standing leg. But there’s enough contact for a yellow card. It could have been more. A really clumsy challenge.
33 min: Wales launch an extremely rare sortie into English territory. Ampadu advances on the box down the middle, but clanks his pass straight to Konsa, who deals with the situation with ease. Pickford has had absolutely nothing to do.
