The Aston Villa striker got the breakthrough goal and strengthened his case for a place in Gareth Southgate's squad this summer
Ollie Watkins waited more than a year to play for England again, and took full advantage of the opportunity by grabbing the elusive goal in a sleepy 1-0 win over Australia. The Aston Villa striker has been banging on Gareth Southgate's door with seven goals this season, and made it an eight at Wembley Stadium, diving to the back post to steer in Jack Grealish's shot.
It was no less than Watkins deserved after making all the right movement and hitting the post, while Grealish also made his mark to show Southgate he is worthy of a starting berth next summer in Germany.
GOAL rates England players from Wembley…
Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence
Sam Johnstone (7/10):
Made an outstanding save to keep out a curling and deflected strike from Baccus and was alert in tipping away a Goodwin effort just after England had scored.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7/10):
Heavily involved in the attacking play. Sparked the goal with a dangerous diagonal into the box that found Grealish.
Lewis Dunk (8/10):
Made a couple of important clearances and was always on standby whenever Australia created danger.
Fikayo Tomori (6/10):
Turned a few times by his opponents.
Levi Colwill (5/10):
A slightly underwhelming England debut and struggled to get a grip as Australia made a strong start. Settled down eventually.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield
Conor Gallagher (5/10):
Energetic but a bit rash. Booked for a scissor tackle on Goodwin just after being let off the hook for a late challenge on Burgess
Jordan Henderson (5/10):
Looked a little rusty and slower than his team-mates, making a few sloppy passes.
James Maddison (7/10):
England's creative engine. At the heart of their attacking play but might be disappointed he couldn't make more of an impact.
Getty ImagesAttack
Jarrod Bowen (5/10):
Couldn't get involved that much which was a shame given the form he is in for his club.
Ollie Watkins (8/10):
England's biggest threat, hitting the post and then breaking the deadlock. Made lots of clever runs and his optimism led to him following in Grealish's shot to score.
Jack Grealish (7/10):
Got forward a lot and set up the breakthrough goal.
Getty ImagesSubs & Manager
Marcus Rashford (6/10):
Used his pace to give Strain the runaround and looked a threat, but had no end product. A bit like his season for Manchester United.
Kalvin Phillips (5/10):
Did nothing special.
Kieran Trippier (6/10):
Focused more on defending than attacking when he came on.
John Stones (6/10):
Got some useful minutes to help get his sharpness back after recovering from injury.
Eddie Nketiah (5/10):
Only had 17 minutes to make an impact on debut and couldn't leave much of a mark.
Phil Foden (6/10):
Came on in the 73rd minute. Didn't do a lot.
Gareth Southgate (6/10):
Fielded an experimental line-up, but as it was a friendly, why not? Gave everyone a run out and got the result he would have wanted.
