England vs Wales
Another week, another headache for England boss Gareth Southgate as yet more of his young players struggle to engage their brains off the pitch.
This International Friendly between England and Wales is a chance for Southgate to play some fringe members of his group, but he’s without another three of his young guns after more embarrassment.
Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho are the latest dim trio to believe that they have no responsibility to shoulder during the COVID-19 crisis, and they are out of the squad.
It’s hardly the best preparation for England who are in a tough battle in their UEFA Nations League group with Belgium topping Group A2 after the opening two matches.
We’ll be covering the tournament as it resumes next week, so keep an eye out for all the latest International Friendly 2020 news and other related updates right here at SBOTOP.
In the meantime, let’s take a look at the latest news in the run up to Thursday’s friendly.
Talking Points
Time for England’s young stars to grow up
Abraham, Chilwell, and Sancho have been kicked out of the squad having attended a surprise party for Abraham’s 23rd birthday on Saturday.
Southgate must be furious to be dealing with yet more bad discipline after he had to send Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden home because of their daft exploits following their international debuts against Iceland.
Wing-back Chilwell was sensational in Chelsea’s recent destruction of Crystal Palace and he would have been certain to play a part over the next two weeks, as would Sancho.
Abraham has apologised but that won’t wash with his head coach who planned last week to give his players “some reminders on how we work”.
“That’s not a case of reading the riot act,” he said, “That’s a case of asking the players what sort of team they want to be involved in and be a part of.”
A tale of two Harrys
Maybe Gareth should ask Harry Maguire after he welcomed the Manchester United centre-back into the squad following his conviction of multiple offences during a party in Mykonos. Maguire is appealing and the Red Devils didn’t strip him of the club’s captaincy.
There’s better news for England fans though in the form of Harry Kane, who scored a brace last weekend at Old Trafford.
The Manchester United defence was ripped apart by Spurs in a 1-6 drubbing and Maguire looked totally dumfounded.
However, Kane was back to his sharpest after a 2019/20 season that was plagued by injury and he could be set to lead the line on Thursday.
There should also be a place for Everton’s red-hot striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is currently the Premier League top scorer alongside Spurs’ Heung-Min Son with six apiece.
The 23-year-old has netted nine times in six appearances in all competitions while scoring seven in 17 England U21 appearances.
With Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling pulling out, Calvert-Lewin and Southampton’s Danny Ings should both get some game time.
Not long ago, the oddsmakers had the Three Lions favourites to win the UEFA Nations League. But the poor behaviour among Southgate’s young players is beginning to weigh heavy on his shoulders as the smart money moves towards Belgium and France.
If the sensible contingent of his squad can put on a good show on Thursday that will improve his mood.
No Bale and Ramsay for Wales
Wales will be without talisman Gareth Bale as the striker works hard to get fit for club football following his return to Spurs.
And Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsay will be missing too after I Bianconeri put their players into a bio-secure bubble when two non-playing staff tested positive for COVID-19.
The absence of Bale and Ramsay will give Bournemouth’s David Brooks and Manchester United’s Daniel James a chance to shine.
History
These two neighbours last met at Euro 2016 when Daniel Sturridge poked home a late goal to give England a 2-1 victory.
And both teams are on a decent run of form, though after ending their Euro 2021 qualifying campaign with three big wins against Bulgaria (6-0) Kosovo (4-0) and Montenegro (7-0), England have started the UEFA Nations League rather more slowly as they beat Iceland 1-0 and playing out a goalless draw with Denmark.
Wales come into the game on a run of four consecutive victories, scoring six goals and conceding none.
Giggs’ team has started its UEFA Nations League Group B4 campaign with two 1-0s – first away to Finland, and then at home to Bulgaria when Liverpool youngster Neco Williams scored in the 94th minute.
Betting Tip
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England vs Wales | England Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 2.03 |
| October 9, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
Despite the bad behaviour in Gareth Southgate’s England, it’s very hard to look beyond a Three Lions win when they cross the white line according to the International Friendly 2020 odds.
The hosts are at odds of 1.32 to win with Wales at 7.96 and the draw at 4.65.
England can drop several players and still have far too much depth for the Welsh who are without their only two world-class players.
2-0 is the most likely result at odds of 5.99, with 3-0 an option at 8.20.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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