Grealish 8, Calvert-Lewin 8, Ings 7: England v Wales player ratings

Comfortable 3-0 win in friendly for England at Wembley Stadium

ENGLAND RATINGS: Nick Pope – 7. Claimed a catch confidently with his first involvement in the game and then reacted to smother the ball at Kieffer Moore’s feet. Had very little else to do but was always quick off his line. EPA

Kieran Trippier – 5. The skipper had a quiet game and found it hard getting involved while hugging the right flank. However, his cross from a free-kick in the second half was inch perfect for Conor Coady to finish. Getty

Bukayo Saka – 5. Looked nervous in the opening exchanges and was guilty of giving away possession. The Arsenal youngster had very little time on the ball, but he grew into the game and tested Wayne Hennessey in the Welsh goal with a stinging effort. EPA

Joe Gomez – 5. A quiet evening for the Liverpool man who had little to do before being substituted with half an hour left on the clock. EPA

Conor Coady – 7. Looked solid at the back and should have done better in the other area in the first half when he blazed over following good work from Saka. He did do better in the second when he leathered home a half volley from Kieran Trippier’s pinpoint delivery. An impressive second cap: captain material. AP

Michael Keane – 5. England struggled with three at the back initially and Keane often lost Kieffer Moore, who was awkward to mark. Moved to the right side of the three in the second half and looked more comfortable. Getty

Harry Winks – 5. Was profligate with the ball at times and played deep, meaning the forward line was often exposed. The game seemed to pass him by. EPA

Kalvin Phillips – 7. Phillips’ cross-field passing was excellent but was sometimes overrun as Wales enjoyed the best of the possession in the first half. Improved in the second and his reading of the game, and his range of passing, will both have been duly noted. Reuters

Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 8. Had the first chance of the game when, after having timed his run to perfection, he rounded Wayne Hennessy but couldn’t find the power in his shot. He did better on 25 minutes when he headed home following Jack Grealish’s cross. Looked likely. AP

Danny Ings – 7. Started in a wide-right position and connected well with Calvert-Lewin, providing a sublime pass for the first chance of the game. He dropped deeper at the start of the second half and then ended it spearheading the attack, from where he scored England’s third goal with an impressive overhead kick. AFP

Jack Grealish – 8. On his first England start, Grealish made the first goal and was involved in the second. First, he used quick feet to give himself a yard of space to then cross perfectly for Calvert-Lewin to head home. Moments later, he worked hard at the other end to cover Saka. In the second half, after enjoying a lot of possession, he was fouled, and England scored from the subsequent free-kick. The pick of England’s players on the night. PA

SUBSTITUTES: Reece James (Trippier, 58) – 6. Looked solid when he came on and gave Matondo very little time to manoeuvre. Getty

Mason Mount (Calvert-Lewin, 58) – 6. Looked busy when he came on and provided energy for England going forward. Showed the odd neat touch and turn. Getty

Tyrone Mings (Gomes, 58) – 6. Settled on the left side at the back and one of his first touches was to nutmeg Neco Williams. EPA

Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Saka, 76) – N/A. Ran into the box and his first touch let him down before his shot was blocked. PA

James Ward-Prowse (Winks, 76) – N/A. The Southampton midfielder worked hard and tested Hennessey from distance at the death. Getty

Harvey Barnes (Grealish, 76) – N/A. Looked dangerous when he came on and broke into the box on a number of occasions. AFP

WALES RATINGS: Wayne Hennessey – 7. Made his 92nd cap to level Neville Southall’s record but had to pick the ball out of his net three times. Made a superb save from Saka’s shot in the second half, and another impressive stop from Ings late on. EPA

Connor Roberts – 5. Got booked in the first half for a late challenge on Saka but always offered a wide option on the right when Wales attacked. EPA

Chris Mepham – 5. The defender lost Calvert-Lewin and left him unmarked when England opened the scoring. At the other end, his header from a Williams corner failed to trouble Pope in the England goal. Struggled at set pieces. Getty

Joe Rodon – 6. Started well and had his hands full with Calvert-Lewin, and it took him until the stroke of half-time to win his first header at the Everton man’s expense. Came off at the break. PA

Ben Davies – 6. The skipper started strongly and always looked lively when going forward. A steady evening. PA

Ethan Ampadu – 6. Had the enviable task of marking Grealish and stuck tight to his man in the most part. Pressed hard and made a couple of overzealous challenges to let the Aston Villa man know he was there. Was taken off after picking up a yellow card. AFP

Joe Morrell (left) – 6. Returning from injury, Morrell started well as Wales dominated in the middle, though he was substituted when he tired. Getty

Jonny Williams –7. Dominated the centre of the park and quite often enabled Wales to have three against two in the centre of the park. Provided great energy. AFP

Tyler Roberts – 7. Found himself unmarked in the box at the stroke of half time but he saw it late and the ball caught him firmly in the face. In the second half he showed good strength to fashion a shooting chance, but his effort didn’t trouble Pope’s goal. A promising performance. Reuters

Rabbi Matondo – 5. Got himself into good positions but his final ball often let him down. Managed to evade the back line on one occasion and hit the post as he cut in but was adjudged offside. AFP

Kieffer Moore – 7. Seized on Saka’s poor clearance and had the first real shot on goal, but his volley finished wide of the post. He looked a danger through the middle and came close again, only for Pope to save at his feet. Did well before coming off and his absence weakened Wales significantly. Reuters

SUBSTITUTES: Neco Williams (Kieffer Moore, 40) – 6. Looked busy when he came on and linked defence and attack well. Getty

Dylan Levitt (Morrell, 46) – 5. Got overrun a bit in midfield but stuck to the task well. Reuters

Ben Cabango (Rodon, 46) – 5. Had a tricky evening in the second half as England attacked. AFP

Will Vaulks (Ampadu, 62) – 5. His first contribution was to leave Danny Ings unmarked for England’s third. Getty

Chris Gunter (Roberts, 73) – N/A. Earned his 97th cap and will hope he did enough to add to that tally further next week. PA

Matthew Smith (Williams, 40) – N/A. Had little chance to show what he could do. Getty

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Danny Ings and Conor Coady scored their first England goals in a 3-0 victory over Wales in a friendly on Thursday as international football returned to Wembley after nearly a year.

It was the least experienced line-up fielded by England in four decades, with only 54 international appearances among the starting XI and Calvert-Lewin one of two players making their debuts.

Calvert-Lewin took only 26 minutes to head in from Jack Grealish’s cross at the north London stadium.

“It is a shame there are no fans here to celebrate, and my family could have been here, so bittersweet in that sense,” Calvert-Lewin, 23, said. “I have worked very hard to get here, it has felt like a long road.”

Second-half goals from Coady and Ings secured the win in the warm-up game for Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark.