Wales hosted England in the third round of Group B of the World Cup in Qatar. The Sons of Albion didn’t give the dragons a chance. Wards Gareth Southgate advanced to the playoffs.
The Wales national team cannot be satisfied with their actions after the first two rounds. A 1-1 penalty draw against the United States and a 0-2 loss to Iran was not the result that coach Rob Page and all the Dragons fans dreamed of. Players from England, who had 4 points on their account, approached this meeting in a slightly better mood, but from the USA they played very doubtfully and drew 0:0.
Wales national team (1-4-2-3-1)Cast: Ward-Williams, Mepham, Rawdon, Davis-Ampadu, Allen, Bale, Ramsey, James-Moore. Coach: Rob Page.
England team (1-4-2-3-1): Pickford-Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw-Henderson, Rice, Rashford, Bellingham, Foden-Kane. Coach: Gareth Southgate.
The referee of the match was Slovenian Slavko Vincic.
World Cup 2022. First half match Wales - England
England attacked first. In the first minutes of the match, the Sons of Albion confidently dominated, building actions in the side zones of the field. Even before the 10th minute, Marcus Rashford went out alone, but was saved by the Welsh goalkeeper.
Wales could not fend off the massive attacks of rivals for a long time. Until the 25th minute of the game, we watched an almost one-sided spectacle, but Wales did not give up and did not allow the opponent more threats in their own net. Wards of Gareth Southgate regularly played the ball in the opponent’s half of the field and attacked on the flanks.
At the 35th minute there was a necessary replacement. Nico Williams, who had previously been hit hard on the head by the ball, was replaced by Roberts. Sons of Albion were unable to break through the Welsh defense, although they were the only ones who shot on goal. Rob Page’s players threatened Jordan Pickford’s goal for the first time at the end of the first half. After 5 added minutes, the referee sent the players to the locker room.
World Cup 2022. Second half match Wales - England
Gareth Bale was replaced by Johnson. England immediately rushed to the attack and clearly dominated the next minutes of the second half. In the 50th minute, Marcus Rashford beat Ward with a brilliant free-kick. The second goal was not long in coming. Phil Foden turned another counterattack into a goal. Kane helped.
Wales tried to shake it off, but it wasn’t easy. They made several attacks and were close to scoring, but Pickford stood guard. Gareth Southgate made a triple substitution. Kane, Rice and Walker retired and were replaced by Wilson, Phillips and Alexander-Arnold. As part of the Wales national team, the field had to be left by Ben Davis, who was heavily fouled. Morel replaced him.
Southgate also decided to replace Luke Shaw with Kieran Trippier. In the 69th minute, after an English counter-attack and a beautiful individual game, he increased the score to 3:0. The Dragons attacked from the side of the field several times, but the pressure of the English effectively deprived them of the illusion of a goal scored.
Marcus Rashford left the field. He was replaced by Jack Grealish and Wilson replaced James in the Wales squad. Wales struggled regularly in midfield, but the English managed to pick up the ball. Joe Allen had to leave the field. Colville took his place.
Wales tried to score at least one goal until the last moments, but it is impossible to achieve this with shots above the gate. England had another chance to extend their lead, but John Stones missed the mark in extra time. After an additional 4 minutes, the referee stopped the match. Wales - England 0-3.
Source: Wprost
