Tuchel's England thump woeful Wales in friendly
England racked up an eighth successive victory against Wales with a 3-0 cruise in an international friendly at Wembley on Thursday to fully justify head coach Thomas Tuchel's decision to omit some leading lights from his squad.
Goals by Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka effectively ended the match as contest with only 20 minutes on the clock as a feeble Wales were left reeling.
Rogers side-footed England's first after three minutes and Watkins, starting in place of injured skipper Harry Kane, tapped home the second before Saka, back from injury that kept him out last month, curled in a stunning third.
Wales avoided further damage and did improve slightly after the break but will already have had one eye on next Monday's vital World Cup qualifier against Belgium in Cardiff.
England face Latvia away next Tuesday when they could clinch top spot in their group and automatic qualification for next year's finals in North America.
Tuchel raised eyebrows by leaving Phil Foden and Jack Grealish and most notably Jude Bellingham out of his squad and rewarding those who played in wins against Andorra and Serbia last month, the latter 5-0 win being the best of the German's reign.
England were also without record goalscorer Kane because of an ankle injury picked up playing for Bayern Munich at the weekend and one pre-match question was how Tuchel's side would manage without a player who has scored 74 goals in 109 appearances.
The answer was emphatic as they capitalised on a woeful Wales start to blow their opponents away.
Wales manager Craig Bellamy said in the build-up there was no such thing as a friendly, even if Monday's clash with Belgium would have been his main focus.
But his defenders did not appear to have taken that message on board as England ran riot from the first whistle.
In England's thrashing of Serbia, Noni Madueke, Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi all scored their first senior England goals.
Rogers continued that trend at Wembley as Guehi was far more switched on than any Welsh player to keep a deep corner alive beyond the back post before pulling back a pass for the unmarked Rogers to sweep a shot past Karl Darlow.
"Right at the top. It's a proud moment to do it at home too in a home nation derby. A dream come true," Rogers said.
That meant England have scored in 17 successive matches for the first time since 1991 and there was more to come.
If the first goal made Bellamy wince, the second would have had him pulling his hair out as somehow nine Welsh players could not stop Guehi's prodded pass reaching Watkins who could hardly believe his luck, tapping in from a yard out.
It soon got even worse for Wales as Saka received the ball on the right and was given far too much time to cut in, pick his spot, and curl an unstoppable left-footer into the top corner.
Rogers struck the crossbar early in the second half before a raft of substitutions by both managers disrupted the flow of the game and England's fans began to drift home.
Wales's sizeable following did at least create some atmosphere and were rewarded with an improved display as England keeper Jordan Pickford made good saves from David Brooks and Chris Mepham.
Pickford has now kept eight clean sheets in his last eight appearances for his country, surpassing the record he shared with England great Gordon Banks.
Blistering Denmark batter Belarus
Striker Rasmus Hojlund and substitute Anders Dreyer both netted twice as Denmark roared to a 6-0 win over Belarus in their World Cup qualifying clash on Thursday that leaves them top of Group C on goal difference.
With Belarus banned from playing at home since March 2022 for facilitating Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the game took place behind closed doors in Hungary, and when Victor Froholdt gave the Danes the lead in the 14th minute their celebrations echoed around the empty ground.
The 19-year-old turned provider five minutes later, steering the ball into the path of Hojlund for a close-range finish to make it 2-0, with the goal allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check for offside.
Hojlund doubled his tally before the break, reacting quickest as Patrick Dorgu's shot came back off the post to steer the ball into the net, and he set up Dorgu for the fourth goal in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time.
The second half brought no improvement in Belarus's fortunes. Dreyer added a fifth in the 66th minute, and he scored again with a shot that squirmed under the body of goalkeeper Fedor Lapoukhov 12 minutes later to complete the rout.
The Danes top Group C on seven points, ahead of Scotland on goal difference. Scotland beat Greece 3-1 at home. The Greeks are third on three points, with Belarus bottom of the group having failed to secure a point so far.
Dutch beat Malta to open three-point lead
Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo converted two penalties while Tijjani Reijnders and Memphis Depay also scored in a 4-0 win away to Malta on Thursday as the Dutch opened up a three-point lead in World Cup qualifying Group G.
The victory moved the Netherlands to 13 points ahead of second-placed Poland, who have also played five matches, and Finland who have 10 points from six games.
The result puts the Dutch closer to World Cup qualification with a home game against Finland in Amsterdam on Sunday giving them a chance to consolidate their position.
Gakpo converted the first spot kick for the Dutch after 12 minutes and the second four minutes into the second half before teeing up Reijnders for their third goal in the 57th. Depay netted a header in stoppage time to wrap up the points.
It was an unimpressive showing from the Dutch, but their superiority was never in doubt, even after captain Virgil van Dijk made a casual back pass in the second minute and almost gifted the hosts a quick goal.
His weak pass was intercepted by Joseph Mbong, who did not find the target from an angle.
Within 10 minutes, Wout Weghorst had swept the ball into the net after Ryan Gravenberch had been brought down by Kurt Shaw.
Instead of playing advantage and allowing a goal, Croatian referee Duje Strukan first blew for a penalty, then awarded the goal before returning to his original decision.
Gakpo easily put away the spot kick, as he did soon after halftime when Weghorst tumbled to the ground under the challenge of Enrico Pepe and was awarded what looked a soft penalty.
The third goal came after Malta were caught trying to pass the ball out from their penalty area, with Gakpo gratefully accepting a stray ball from Malta goalkeeper Henry Bonello.
Instead of looking to complete his hat-trick, Gakpo squared for Reijnders to easily side-foot into the net.
Dutch record scorer Memphis Depay came on after having been dropped from the starting lineup when he arrived late because his passport went missing before he flew to the Netherlands from Brazil, where he plays his club football.
The striker put some gloss on the scoreline as he got his head to Denzel Dumfries’ driving cross to extend his record tally to 53 for his country.
Malta are still to win a game in the group and sit bottom with two points from six matches.
The group winners qualify for next year's World Cup in North America with the runners-up going into the play-offs.
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