England manager Thomas Tuchel named three Aston Villa players in his starting line-up for Thursday night’s friendly against Wales at Wembley.
The Villa trio were prominent in the best portion of the game for England, who scored all three of their goals in a 3-0 win inside the first 20 minutes.
Morgan Rogers opening the scoring with a smartly taken first senior international goal as early as the third minute. He later hit the crossbar with a driven second-half effort.
Ollie Watkins deputised for England captain Harry Kane and prodded their second over the line. Villa’s record Premier League goalscorer was unable to poke in a second just before the break and his collision with the post, which saw him withdrawn at half time, will have had Unai Emery on the phone immediately.
Ezri Konsa played at right-back but was heavily involved in attacking situations and claimed an assist to add to his goal in the last international match window, teeing up Bukayo Saka’s scorching third goal.
After the match it was Saka, Rogers and Tuchel who undertook England media duties with ITV Sport‘s on-the-ground reporter Gabriel Clarke.
Asked whether Rogers is key to the way Tuchel wants England to play, the national team manager said:
“He is what he is, he is a number 10, he fights for his place. He is at the moment ready and an important player.
“He has everything [that] it takes and he’s in a good way.”
“Yeah, right at the top,” said Rogers when Clarke asked him where his first England goal places as a career moment.
“It’s a proud moment. It’s a lovely moment. To do it at home as well, and in a home nation derby, it’s a dream come true really. It’s nice.”
Rogers has played himself into his international manager’s thinking with two good performances in back-to-back matches for the Three Lions despite struggling to hit the highest notes in a Villa shirt this season.
The Halesowen-born 23-year-old produced some bright moments again against Wales at Wembley but was arguably better overall in the thumping of Serbia last month. In terms of end product and impact around the box, Thursday’s friendly was the more impressive display.
Tuchel will be tempted to stick with Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka when England play Latvia in a World Cup qualifier in Riga on Tuesday.
Kane is expected to be back for a game that could see England secure a place at next summer’s World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The extent of Watkins’ injury and prognosis is unknown but the Villa striker initially continued and left the field under his own steam.
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