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England 1-0 Australia Player Ratings – England edged victory over Australia tonight in their first-ever meeting at Wembley Stadium, with Ollie Watkins grabbing the winning goal. We predicted him to make a big impact, and he certainly did.
The hosts started with a second-string side with their Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy on Tuesday in mind, and were understandably not at their best, while the visitors put in a display they can take some positives from.
England 1-0 Australia Player Ratings
Contents
Match Timeline
8′ – Gallagher’s dangerous cross is missed by Maddison and Watkins.
22′ – Duke volleys just wide from inside the box.
29′ – Watkins rounds Ryan after being put through, but his tame shot hits the post.
44′ – Strain’s shot is brilliantly cleared off the line by Dunk.
57′ – (Goal) – Watkins taps in at the far post from Grealish’s drilled cross.
80′ – Metcalfe heads onto the post from a corner unmarked in the box.
Star Player – Ollie Watkins – 8.5/10
Watkins was a bright spark in an otherwise pretty uninspiring England performance. He was a constant threat, hitting the post in the first half after rounding the goalkeeper, and deservedly scoring the winning goal with a striker’s instinct to get to the back post.
Watkins deserved his call-up back into the squad for his form for Aston Villa at the start of the season, and is in pole position at the moment to be Harry Kane’s back-up for the Euros.
563 – Ollie Watkins has scored in consecutive @England appearances, with these coming 563 days apart. It's the biggest gap between consecutive scoring appearances for the Three Lions since Mike O'Grady between 1962 and 1969 (2,335 days). Awaited. pic.twitter.com/SUuTFsEBD7
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 13, 2023
England Player Ratings
Sam Johnstone 7/10 – Didn’t have much to do but did the basics well.
Trent Alexander-Arnold 7/10 – Offered an attacking threat and was pushed into a right-midfield position at times.
Fikayo Tomori 7/10 – Solid defensively before being replaced on the hour mark.
Lewis Dunk 8/10 – Impressive defensive performance capped off by a wonderful goal-line clearance.
Levi Colwill 6/10 – Australia got down his side a couple of times and was booked in the first half.
Conor Gallagher 5/10 – Made a couple of rash tackles and was booked in the first half.
Jordan Henderson 6/10 – Solid enough and started as captain before being taken off.
Jarrod Bowen 6/10 – The quieter of the forward line but was kept on for the whole game.
James Maddison 7/10 – Lively in the final third but wayward with a first-half effort.
Jack Grealish 7/10 – Grabbed an assist and was a threat going forward.
Ollie Watkins 8/10 – Got his goal and hit the post in the first half after a piercing run.
Substitutes
Marcus Rashford 6/10 – Took on his man a couple of times but lacked an end product.
Kieran Trippier 6/10 – Solid as he could be, but didn’t get forward much.
Kalvin Phillips 6/10 – Went a bit unnoticed but did a job when he came on.
John Stones 6/10 – Decent cameo considering he’s just come back from injury.
Phil Foden 7/10 – Had some delightful touches and used his body well.
Eddie Nketiah 5/10 – Struggled a bit on his senior debut and got knocked off the ball too easily.
Australia Player Ratings
Mathew Ryan 6/10 – Couldn’t do anything for the goal and wasn’t tested much.
Ryan Strain 6/10 – Should’ve scored in the first half when Dunk cleared off the line. Booked.
Harry Souttar 6/10 – Solid display and was a threat from set-pieces.
Cameron Burgess 6/10 – Similar to Souttar, a decent performance considering the circumstances.
Kye Rowles 6/10 – Got stuck in and offered forward support at times.
Martin Boyle 6/10 – Solid enough when called upon.
Keanu Baccus 5/10 – A frustrated figure at times and was booked in the first half.
Jackson Irvine 5/10 – Wasn’t on the ball as much as he would’ve liked and was also booked.
Craig Goodwin 5/10 – Did not offer much in the final third and was subbed after the 70-min mark.
Connor Metcalfe 6/10 – Hit the post in the second half and did his best going forward.
Mitchell Duke 6/10 – Caused a few nervy moments and shot narrowly wide in the first half.
Substitutes
Brandon Borrello 5/10 – Didn’t offer too much of an attacking threat.
Jordan Bos 6/10 – Added some steel to the midfield.
Lewis Miller 5/10 – Struggled to make an impact.
Aziz Behich N/A – Didn’t have enough time to get a rating.
Awer Mabil N/A – Didn’t have enough time to get a rating.
Mohamed Traore N/A – Didn’t have enough time to get a rating.
England 1-0 Australia Player Ratings: The final word
England and Gareth Southgate will be pleased with the win, but not entirely convinced by the performance. They created few clear-cut chances, and Australia could’ve easily gotten a result on another night.
The Socceroos will take heart from keeping the score at 1-0, and the Three Lions will certainly have to be better against Italy.
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