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Ollie Watkins is the man of the moment: seven goals and four assists this season in a free-flowing Aston Villa side, including a recent hat-trick against Brighton in front of Gareth Southgate, meant it wasn\u2019t a surprise when he was called up to play for England last week, 18 months after his last cap.<\/p>\n
Except that three weeks ago, he wasn\u2019t the man at all. He still hadn\u2019t scored in the Premier League. He was struggling to take chances and he was getting some stick, which is why he celebrated his first league goal of the season, against Chelsea in late September, with his fingers in his ears. Zoom out and his form has been exceptional for a year, but criticism is never far away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think all fans are quite fickle,\u201d Watkins says. \u201cIf you go a few games without a goal, people will be saying, \u2018he\u2019s on a drought, he can\u2019t score\u2019. Then I score four goals in two games and everyone kind of loves you.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Interview: The striker, who is thriving for Unai Emery\u2019s Villa and is back in the England squad, discusses fame, shunning social media and why he doesn\u2019t like shopping<\/p>\n
Australia last faced a European nation in a friendly in June 2018, beating Hungary 2-1. <\/p>\n
Indeed, the Socceroos have won their last two friendlies with European nations (also 4-0 versus Czechia in June 2018), after losing nine of their previous 12 (won one, drawn two). <\/p>\n
Australia manager Graham Arnold says he used Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou to try and inspire his side before their friendly against England.<\/p>\n
Arnold spoke to Postecoglou and former Australia head coach Guus Hiddink asking them to speak to his players before tonight\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
“The speeches by Ange were very similar to what we\u2019ve been saying for years,” said Arnold, “Doing it for the kids in Australia, the nation and the supporters.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
England and Australia will face at Wembley for the very first time. Only two nations have ever beaten the Three Lions in their first game against them at the national stadium \u2013 Hungary in 1953 (6-3) and Sweden in 1959 (3-2). <\/p>\n
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Gareth Southgate wants England\u2019s players to be mentally \u201cspot on\u201d and grab their opportunity to impress as he experiments against old sporting rivals Australia.<\/p>\n
The Three Lions can seal their place at next summer\u2019s European Championships when they host holders Italy at Wembley in Tuesday\u2019s Group C encounter.<\/p>\n
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Gareth Southgate wants England\u2019s players to be mentally \u201cspot on\u201d and grab their opportunity to impress as he experiments against old sporting rivals Australia. The Three Lions can seal their place at next summer\u2019s European Championships when they host holders Italy at Wembley in Tuesday\u2019s Group C encounter. Italy beat England in the Euro 2020 final two years ago. But ahead of the qualifier, Southgate\u2019s side will face Australia in London. \u201cOur mindset has got to be spot on,\u201d he said ahead of kick-off. \u201cEqually, we\u2019ve still got a bit of work to do to qualify for the European Championships but we\u2019re potentially six games away from that. We have good players and we need to give people opportunities to show what they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the game might get a bit more spicy than some previous friendlies have been noted for, on account of the natural sporting rivalry that occurs between these two nations, but ultimately the gap in quality should prove significant. <\/p>\n
England 3-1 Australia<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n England XI: <\/strong>Pickford; Walker, Guehi, Colwill, Trippier; Rice, Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham; Bowen, Kane, Maddison<\/p>\n Australia XI: <\/strong>Ryan; Miller, Rowles, Burgess, Behich; Irvine, Luongo, Baccus, O\u2019Neill; Duke, Mabil<\/p>\n Gareth Southgate might opt to shuffle the pack before the Italy match but he has habitually kept a fairly consistent core and just altered a few players around them. <\/p>\n As such, the in-form Jarrod Bowen will be one hoping to get a chance, while Trent Alexander-Arnold may get another run-out in midfield in a non-competitive environment having missed out on the last international break through injury. <\/p>\n Levi Colwill has impressed for Chelsea so could get a look-in in defence, be it centrally or on the left given no natural left-backs are in the squad.<\/p>\n Australia are without a host of regulars including Ajdin Hrustic, Mathew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren and Bailey Wright – plus Aaron Mooy, who has retired.<\/p>\n The Three Lions face the Socceroos on Friday 13 October 2023 at Wembley, with kick-off set for 7:45pm BST.<\/p>\n All of England\u2019s fixtures outside of international tournaments are for now screened free to air on Channel 4, and can be streamed on the Channel 4 website and app.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the <\/em>best VPNs<\/em><\/u> in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider.<\/em><\/p>\nEngland vs Australia predicted line-ups<\/h3>\n
England vs Australia team news<\/h3>\n
How to watch England vs Australia<\/h3>\n
England vs Australia<\/h3>\n