In the absence of Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins continued his hot goal-scoring type on Friday to guide England to a 1-0 win towards Australia at Wembley Stadium.
Watkins has already scored two hat tips for Aston Villa this season and seized his probability to make an impression forward of subsequent 12 months’s European Championship.
In his first England look for 19 months, he slid in to transform from shut vary within the 57th-minute for the one goal of the sport as Engalnd warmed up for Tuesday’s Euro 2024 qualifier towards Italy (2:45 p.m. ET on FS1) with a win.
“I knew I wasn’t going to come off this pitch without the goal, that was in my mind,” Watkins mentioned.
England coach Gareth Southgate confirmed his appreciation when greeting the striker with a hug when he was substituted later within the match.
Watkins is considered one of a number of forwards hoping to make Southgate’s squad for the Euros, ought to England qualify for the match in Germany. Along with the likes of Callum Wilson, Eddie Nketiah and Ivan Toney, he’s competing to take up the position of understudy to Kane, England’s captain and all-time main scorer.
That is why video games like this tackle additional that means for the gamers who must make some extent to Southgate.
“It has been a long time coming,” Watkins mentioned. “I have been waiting a long time for the next call-up. I was looking forward to it, and I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip. There [are] so many good forwards around scoring goals and it is about taking your opportunity when you are on the pitch.”
Watkins had scored on his England debut towards San Marino in 2021 after which once more on his first begin for his nation towards Ivory Coast the next 12 months.
He hadn’t performed for England since then, however his spectacular membership type earned him a second begin, and he was on the scoresheet once more for his third worldwide goal.
Watkins capitalized when Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s diagonal ball into the field discovered Jack Grealish, who drove a low cross to the far put up. Watkins slid in to satisfy it, break the impasse and finally safe the win.
The 27-year-old striker has now scored eight objectives for membership and nation in 14 appearances this season. His England name up got here after hat tips for Villa towards Hibernian within the Europa Conference League and Brighton within the Premier League.
“There [were] a few times before I got called up and didn’t think I deserved it, but now I am coming in confident in myself off the back of good form,” he mentioned. “I was not nervous and just tried to perform in front of all these fans. I scored, it was a good night.”
Watkins was a part of an experimental England crew towards Australia that included a senior debut for Chelsea defender Levi Colwill. Sam Johnstone, Lewis Dunk, Fikayo Tomori and Jarrod Bowen had been additionally named within the lineup as Southgate benched a lot of his regulars.
Watkins may need added one other goal when he was fractions away from opening the scoring within the first half after taking the ball round Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan and hitting the put up.
Australia then got here near taking a halftime lead, however Dunk cleared Ryan Strain’s shot off the road.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
International Friendlies
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Ollie Watkins
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