England’s Ollie Watkins marked his international return with a second-half winner as Gareth Southgate’s experimental side battled to a 1-0 friendly win over Australia at a damp Wembley Stadium on Friday.
With a key Euro 2024 qualifying match against holders Italy looming on Tuesday, the England manager took the opportunity to rest first-team regulars, including captain Harry Kane, and give playing time to some of the team’s younger players.
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Only three of the 11 starters have more than 10 caps, with 10 changes from the team that beat Scotland 3-1 in England’s last international and Chelsea defender Levi Colwill making his debut.
Watkins, back for the first time since March 2022, slipped the ball to the far post in the 57th minute after Jack Grealish had fired across goal.
It was the Aston Villa striker’s third goal for England and second in successive matches, albeit 563 days apart.
“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve waited a long time for the next call. I was looking forward to it and I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity,” Watkins told Channel Four television.
“It was a tough game. A lot of us had never played together before. We scored the goal and saw it. There’s obviously a lot of work to do.”
Southgate announced the changes after the break against opponents who could easily have taken the lead in the first half, with Watkins making way for debutant Eddie Nketiah in the 73rd among a flurry of substitutions.
The match was only England’s second friendly since March last year, and the first men’s international match at Wembley to have a female referee with Frenchwoman Stéphanie Frappart blowing the whistle.
It was no thriller, with England’s experimental outfit looking disjointed and vulnerable in defense despite plenty of possession.
Watkins also had England’s best chance of the first half when he rounded goalkeeper Mat Ryan in the 33rd but saw his shot towards the far corner bounce off the post.
England had already missed a good chance in the eighth minute when Conor Gallagher sent in a low cross from the touchline, but neither James Maddison nor Watkins could touch it.
While the hosts had to wait 42 minutes before getting their first corner, Australia could easily have taken the lead.
England’s Sam Johnstone made a diving save from Keanu Baccus in the 11th minute, while Lewis Dunk kept a clean sheet thanks to a vital 44th-minute block from Ryan Strain, with the keeper beaten.
Connor Metcalfe could also have equalized for Australia 10 minutes from time when he headed towards the post from a corner.
The victory was Southgate’s 55th as England manager.
Both teams wore black armbands and there was a period of silence for victims of the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
The Football Association’s decision not to light the stadium’s arch in blue and white as a sign of solidarity with Israel, following last week’s attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, earned a reprimand from the government on Thursday.
