England vs Ivory Coast LIVE: Result, final score and reaction from international fixture
Relive all the action from Wembley as the Three Lions continued their World Cup preparations
Stand-in skipper Raheem Sterling set up one and scored another as England cruised to victory in a friendly against Ivory Coast that felt more like a training match after Serge Aurier’s sending off.
Gareth Southgate made 10 changes from Saturday’s comeback win against well-drilled Switzerland as World Cup preparations continued with a first-ever senior international meeting of these nations.
Sterling crossed for Ollie Watkins’ opener and added a second shortly after Aurier’s first-half sending off, with many having left Wembley by the time Tyrone Mings headed home to make it 3-0 at the death. Relive all the action below:
Pepe a key man for Ivory Coast
Nicolas Pépé was directly involved in more goals than any other player for the Ivory Coast at the 2021 African Cup of Nations (three in four games), scoring two goals and providing an assist for a teammate.
He also led all players for the Ivory Coast at the tournament for chances created (11).
Southgate understands Zaha switch
Wilfried Zaha played twice for England before deciding to switch his alliegence to the Ivory Coast - the country he was born in - in 2016.
The Crystal Palace striker made his debut for England in 2012 and won two caps for the national side before making the switch and Gareth Southgate says he understand’s why Zaha decided to lean that way.
“He’s a talent. He’s a good player playing at a high level every week.” said Southgate.
“He felt the Ivory Coast was the route to go and I totally understood that. It’s hard to say what his role might have been with us.
“Raheem [Sterling] has been a key part of our team for a long period, Jesse Lingard had done a fabulous job and, at the start, we had Adam Lallana, who was our player of the year for the first 18 months or so. “
‘Fantastic’ to see Ivory Coast play England says Kolo Toure
Former Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure is on pundit duties for tonight’s game and says that it is fantastic although unbelievable to see Ivory Coast face England for the first time. He told Sky Sports:
“It’s fantastic. I’m very surprised to find out this is the first time we are playing England.
“I’m looking forward to it. I hope my fellow brothers do us proud. Ivory Coast has always had talent but we have struggled to qualify for the World Cup.
“We just have to make sure we put everything together to try to compete and win important games.”
England start penalty practice to avoid more shoot-out heartache in Qatar
Gareth Southgate says England have started practising penalties ahead of the winter World Cup.
Having beaten Colombia on spot-kicks in the 2018 tournament and won bronze at the following year’s Nations League finals with a shoot-out win against Switzerland, the Three Lions suffered all too familiar heartbreak last summer.
Southgate, who missed the key spot-kick in the Euro 96 semi-final shoot-out loss to Germany, oversaw England’s agonising defeat on penalties to Italy in the European Championship final at Wembley.
England start penalty practice to avoid more shoot-out heartache in Qatar
England lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy.
England vs Ivory Coast
In the Premier League, Ivory Coast’s Wilfried Zaha has only scored once against England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, doing so in November 2017 for Crystal Palace versus Everton.
In fact, Zaha scored with his first shot against Pickford in the Premier League and has since failed to score with his last nine attempts against the stopper.
Neither player starts tonight. Zaha is out of the Ivory Coast squad and Pickford starts on England’s bench.
England vs Ivory Coast
Harry Kane scored England’s 100th penalty goal in all competitions (excluding penalty shootouts) against Switzerland last time out.
It was his 14th from the spot, five more than any other player (Frank Lampard, nine). In fact, 20 per cent of England’s penalty goals have come under Gareth Southgate (20/100), the highest such share of any England manager.
England’s penalty shootout problem: after Harry Kane, who else?
When Harry Kane stepped up to the spot before completing England’s hard-fought comeback against Switzerland, there was little doubt he would score. Kane has now converted 42 of the 50 penalties he has taken during his career. The only kick he has missed in the last two-and-a-half years was in the European Championship semi-final against Denmark last summer. He scored on the rebound.
If England are awarded a penalty, Kane will take and usually convert. Given that he has been available for selection in every competitive game for the last five years, he is always likely to be on the pitch and no stand-ins are necessary. The only problem comes in penalty shootouts, where there is an increasingly relevant question that will grow louder as the finals approach: after Kane, who else?
England have a penalty shootout problem. After Harry Kane, who else?
Southgate was short on experienced takers at Euro 2020 and may have lost his second-best
England vs Ivory Coast
African nations have lost five of their six matches against England at Wembley, with the other game a 1-1 draw for Ghana exactly eleven years prior to this match; a 90th minute equaliser by Asamoah Gyan cancelled out Andy Carroll’s goal for the Three Lions.
England are unbeaten in each of their last 21 matches in all competitions with 17 wins and four draws, the outright longest ever unbeaten streak in the Three Lions’ history.
Indeed, England have only lost one of their last 22 games at Wembley (including home/neutral), winning 18 (D3) and never conceding more than once in any of those matches.
England vs Ivory Coast
As expected Gareth Southgate makes a bucket load of changes to England’s starting XI. From the team that lined-up against Switzerland at the weekend only Ben White remains in the team. Nick Pope comes in to replace Jordan Pickford in goal, there’s a start for Harry Maguire and Raheem Sterling captains the team in the absence of Harry Kane.
They’re facing a decent line-up from the Ivory Coast. Take a look:
Ivory Coast: Ali, Kamara, Deli, Bailly, Aurier, Seri, Kessie, Gradel, Cornet, Pepe, Haller
James Ward-Prowse desperate to make England World Cup squad after Euros disappointment
James Ward-Prowse is determined to make England’s World Cup squad and avoid watching another tournament from the sofa.
Named in every Three Lions squad he was available for last season, the in-form 27-year-old saw hopes of playing in the run to the Euro 2020 final scotched after being cut from the provisional squad.
Ward-Prowse had already experienced similar heartache having missed out on England’s 2019 Nations League finals after training with Gareth Southgate’s men in the build-up, but that disappointment could not compare with the summer.
James Ward-Prowse desperate to make England World Cup squad after Euros frustration
The midfielder missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad
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