England head coach Thomas Tuchel is poised handy striker Ollie Watkins his first worldwide begin since November within the pleasant in opposition to Wales on Thursday evening.
Captain Harry Kane is unavailable after selecting up a foot damage whereas enjoying for Bayern Munich on the weekend – however hopes to be match to face Latvia in Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier.
It’s understood Watkins is in line to interchange England’s document scorer because the lone centre-forward for the go to of Craig Bellamy’s facet to Wembley.
The Aston Villa striker has been a daily within the England set-up since his debut in March 2021, however final began within the 3-1 Nations League victory in Greece – when he scored beneath interim boss Lee Carsley in November 2024.
Watkins, 29, additionally famously netted a Ninetieth-minute winner in England’s semi-final conquer the Netherlands at Euro 2024, reserving their place within the showpiece in opposition to Spain which they misplaced 2-1.
With Villa struggling in the beginning of this season, Watkins has scored simply as soon as, in his facet’s 3-1 win over Fulham.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is ready to captain the facet in Kane’s absence. The 26-year-old was named on Monday by Tuchel as one of many choices, alongside Jordan Henderson and John Stones.
