Three England stars who must make World Cup 2026 squad
England stunned Wales with three goals inside 20 minutes at Wembley Stadium while a number of players layed down a marker for their World Cup inclusion.
The Three Lions have now won each of their last eight games against Wales and are only on a longer active winning streak against Luxembourg (nine).
Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka gave England a three-goal lead after just 20 minutes, the first time they had scored as many at that stage of a match since November 1987 against Yugoslavia.
Saka’s goal was his 13th for the Three Lions, making him Arsenal‘s all-time highest goalscorer for the men’s national team, going clear of Cliff Bastin (12).
Meanwhile, Jordan Pickford became the first ever goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in eight consecutive appearances for England.
England named a starting XI that did not consist of at least one Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United player for the first time since June 1992 against France, and this allowed Thomas Tuchel to take another close look at some players who are still fighting for their place in the team.
Elliot Anderson compared to Steven Gerrard
There were multiple strong performances within the England team on the night, but Elliot Anderson, Marc Guehi and Rogers truly stood out.
Anderson wowed the media with a display that drew comparisons to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, but Nottingham Forest may have mixed feelings.
Indeed, Anderson continues to be linked with a transfer away from the City Ground, and such dominant performances while under the national spotlight will make it harder for the club to hold on to his services.
He completed 96 per cent of his passes on the night (74/77), while he also made the most passes of any player in the final third of the pitch.
To add that, no England player created more chances (two) or completed more dribbles (two), while he led all teammates for possession regains (six).
Morgan Rogers had a point to prove
If Rogers had not started in England’s previous match, a 5-0 drubbing of Serbia in September, there is a good chance he would not have started against Wales.
Rogers has drawn criticism in the national media for his poor performances at club level this season, but his display against Wales gave all doubters a reminder of his talents.
The Aston Villa midfielder had not scored for club or country since April, but it took him just two minutes and 10 seconds to open the scoring against Wales.
It was England’s quickest goal since Luke Shaw netted inside three minutes in the EURO 2020 final against Italy.
Rogers finished the game with the most shots on target of any player (two), while he also created a huge chance for Villa teammate Watkins that failed to be converted.
He nearly scored again in the second half, hitting the crossbar before being subsituted in the 70th minute for Morgan Gibbs-White.
If this is a sign of things to come then it won’t be long until he gets linked with a move away from Villa once again, though there is still a chance that Rogers signs a new deal with the club.
Marc Guehi was ‘magnificent’
Although it may sound counter-intuitive, defending was probably the least impressive aspect of Guehi’s performance against Wales.
Guehi was hailed as ‘magnificent’ by former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock and much of that will be based on his ability on the ball, given England didn’t have much defending to do on the night.
The Crystal Palace captain assisted England’s first two goals, reacting quickly in the box in both instances following set pieces, something he’s made a habit of at club level this season too.
He has now been directly involved in six goals for club and country this season (two goals, four assists), an astonishing feat for a central defender.
Guehi was also an important figure, along with John Stones, in helping England build their attacks from the back, completing 87 of his 88 pass attempts, the most of any player.