Friday , March 29 2024

England Vs Wales – The Main Takeaways!

It’s been a bizarre year for football – and sport on the whole. Therefore, the recent midweek England-Wales clash was more than welcome. Of course, as the scoreline showed, it was probably more worth watching for England fans than Welsh supporters, but you can’t discount the fact that there were still a few world-class moments worth watching.

Fans who have been experiencing a drought in the game may have been using brilliant resources such as the football betting guide by SportsBettingMarkets.com in the interim. With matches like this hopefully opening up on the regular, there should now be even more reason to keep following the beautiful game.

Was It a Match to Remember?

England came away three goals up, on Wales by the final whistle. That alone should be enough for England fans to be fairly happy, especially given how spectacular an evening it was for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who made a stunning international debut.

Calvert-Lewin pulled off a dream first match by putting England ahead in the 26th minute. It was arguably his cross-in from Jack Grealish that helped establish Gareth Southgate’s side as the one firmly in control.

While Calvert-Lewin substituted off late in the game, it was also an evening of firsts for Danny Ings and Conor Coady. Both players managed to score their first international goals for the side. England, therefore, managed to steal ahead of Wales – who never really recovered – with three clear strikes sealing the win.

The fact that all three of the goals England took to victory came from first-time scorers is pretty extraordinary. However, some commentators feel that it perhaps wasn’t the magical evening it could have been otherwise.

A Sign of Things to Come?

Southgate will naturally be looking for inspiration ahead of the truncated Euro 2020, which will now take place next year. England in 2020 is still a very young side. Calvert-Lewin, in particular, has shown his ability to convert, and England did prove on the day that they are not always going to fluff every free kick that comes their way.

Wales, however, had to eat a fair amount of humble pie. It was the international side’s worst showing against England since 1973. Therefore, perhaps not the best day for the record books all around. Then again, history dictates that England has been coming out on top much more in recent times. In fact, this was the side’s sixth win against Wales in a row.

Some commentators feel that the match didn’t show either Wales or England at their creative best. However, for a number of the rising stars on the pitch, that hardly seems to be the point.

This recent friendly should, at least, light a fire under both teams. Wales might need to start rethinking their movements if they are going to stand a chance at beating world-class sides again. They have done in the past, so it is not impossible.

England, however, are desperate to convert on the fantastic run they had under Southgate in the 2018 World Cup. Could these friendlies give the coach and his team food for thought?

About Arunava Chaudhuri

Check Also

Premier League signs multi-year deal with VR developer Rezzil!

The Premier League has today announced a four-year partnership with Rezzil, the virtual reality (VR) …