Bukayo Saka wowed the Wembley crowd on Thursday night as he scored a sumptuous third to put England into a commanding lead early on against Wales, becoming Arsenal‘s highest ever scorer for the men’s national team in the process. Playing an international friendly against their neighbours, Morgan Rogers had fired the Three Lions ahead in the third minute.
Aston Villa teammate Ollie Watkins then added his first and England’s second in the 11th minute but it was Saka’s strike that had the home fans on their feet.
Elliot Anderson’s shot was blocked, and the ball worked its way back to Declan Rice. He then found Ezri Konsa before the Villa defender laid a pass to Saka in space on the right.
Konsa’s underlapping run opened up a gap for Saka to make his move and despite pressure from David Brooks, the Arsenal sensation managed to pick out the top corner from 20 yards, leaving Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow to clutch at thin air.
Despite suggestions that Thomas Tuchel could name a weakened XI for the friendly meeting with Wales, the England boss named a surprisingly strong side at Wembley on Thursday night. Captain Harry Kane missed the game due to injury, with Watkins deputising on the frontline, but the likes of Declan Rice, Marc Guehi, Anthony Gordon and Saka all featured from the outset.
Marcus Rashford replaced Watkins for the second half in the capital as Tuchel sought to keep his players fresh ahead of next week’s World Cup qualifier against Latvia. Tuchel also handed Djed Spence a full England debut after the Tottenham full-back became the first Muslim player to represent the men’s national team when he came off the bench against Serbia last month.
England currently sit top of Group K in World Cup qualifying, with their 5-0 win at Serbia in Belgrade last month making it five wins from five. Their group rivals will have the chance to make up ground on the Three Lions this weekend as Latvia host Andorra and Serbia take on Albania.
Tuchel’s side, meanwhile, are back in competitive action on Tuesday night as he takes his men to Latvia. England won the reverse fixture at Wembley 3-0 courtesy of goals from Reece James, Kane and Eberechi Eze.
Tuchel is expected to have Kane available for Tuesday’s match after he sat out the welcome of Wales. The England boss said of the Bayern star earlier this week: “[Kane] got a kick in his last match with Bayern Munich. It was too risky he gets another kick and be in an up and down situation pain-wise. We gave him the chance that everything calms down. We are convinced he’ll be ready for the match against Latvia.”
