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Commentary
Minute
Description
90' +2
Slight worry as Rose goes down after a challenge but he gets back up and is ready to continue.
90'
Four minutes of stoppage time...
88'
England are now just doing their best to see this game out. Nigeria have a few minutes to find their equaliser but they will need something special to beat Pickford.
86'
Delph whips a cross to the far post and he finds Rashford but the United forward gets underneath the ball and heads over.
84'
Still time for either side to get a goal but England will be frustrated by their lack of control in the second 45 minutes.
82'
F. Delph enters the game and replaces D. Alli.
Delph is now stripped off and he will get seven minutes of action as Alli makes way.
80'
Rashford picks up the ball on the edge of the area but he cannot make it 3-1 after producing a tame shot.
78'
Welbeck curves his run to get in behind the Nigeria defence but he wins a corner after a strong tackle inside the box.
77'
K. Ịheanachọ enters the game and replaces O. Ighalo.
A. Musa gets yellow.
Ighalo has worked hard but is now back on the bench with Iheanacho ready to impress.
Musa picks up a yellow card after a sloppy challenge.
73'
M. Rashford enters the game and replaces R. Sterling.
D. Welbeck enters the game and replaces H. Kane.
Kane takes off the armband and on comes Arsenal man Welbeck.
Rashford also gets some game time and he enters the field of play at the expense of Sterling.
Minute
Description
72'
Changes now coming for England...
69'
Loftus-Cheek has just over 20 minutes to make his mark in the middle of the park. Southgate is a big fan of the Chelsea man and he did look good while on loan at Crystal Palace.
68'
D. Rose enters the game and replaces A. Young.
Young's night is also over and he is replaced by Spurs man Rose.
67'
R. Loftus-Cheek enters the game and replaces J. Lingard.
Lingard's evening comes to an end and Loftus-Cheek gets an opportunity to impress from the bench.
65'
The home side are having their moments but Nigeria are refusing to lie down and it is the exact opposite to how the first half panned out.
63'
A. Musa enters the game and replaces V. Moses.
Another substitution for Nigeria as Musa replaces Chelsea man Moses.
62'
CHANCE - Another corner and another chance for England. Dier gets a free header from inside the six-yard box but he glides his effort wide of the far post.
58'
Southgate may be tempted to use his bench in the next five or 10 minutes as his team continue to go through the motions in this second half.
55'
Groans can be heard around Wembley as Alli tries to find Lingard but his through ball is just behind the winger. That is a better response after a sloppy 10 minutes.
53'
The Nigeria fans will be loving this response from their players but Southgate will also be happy to see the opposition improve. He will want to see his players put through their paces and they certainly are at the moment.
52'
R. Sterling gets yellow.
Sterling goes down in the box after Uzoho comes out to meet him but the City man is booked for diving after going down before the pair collide.
50'
What a start to this second-half from Nigeria. They have England on the ropes and Southgate's men need to dig deep to come through this tricky spell.
47'
A. Iwobi has scored a goal for Nigeria!
GOAAALLLL Nigeria! Iwobi is the man of the moment as he gives Pickford no chance. Former Watford man Ighalo hit the post and as the Everton keeper tried to get up Iwobi found the bottom corner with his rebound.
46'
J. Ogu enters the game and replaces J. Obi.
O. Etebo enters the game and replaces O. Onazi.
K. Omeruo enters the game and replaces L. Balogun.
T. Ebuehi enters the game and replaces A. Shehu.
Rohr wasting no time as he makes changes at the break. Onazi is the first off and on comes Etebo.
After a quiet first-half, Shehu comes off for Ebuehi.
The second-half is underway.
The final change at half-time sees Ogu come on for Obi.
Balogun is also hauled off and Omeruo is his replacement.
45' +1
Just one minute of stoppage time!
45'
CHANCE - Iwobi's cross-field pass finds Moses who sets off on a mazy run. The Chelsea man eventually finds room to shoot but his low drive is saved easily by Pickford.
42'
Just a few minutes until the break and England look like they will have a two-nil advantage. Nigeria have worked hard but they have been outclassed so far.
39'
H. Kane has scored a goal for England!
GOAALLLL England 2-0!!!! Kane shows the rest of the England boys how it is done and that was a sensational finish. After watching a number of chances go to waste, the Tottenham man finds space on the edge of the box before smashing it into the bottom corner.
38'
Southgate will be happy so far but there are still areas to improve after half-time. He may stick with the same starting XI for the first few minutes of the second-half but today's game is the ideal opportunity to work on new tactics.
37'
Pickford finally makes his first save of the match and it is very comfortable after Ighalo tried his luck from a very narrow angle.
CHANCE - Alli beats the offside trap and tees up Sterling after a nice bit of control but the Manchester City forward leans back and blazes his shot over the bar.
36'
Iwobi charges down the right flank and drills his cross to the edge of the area but two of his team-mates run into each other and the chance goes begging.
34'
Southgate's men win a corner as Lingard's half-volley is deflected behind. That was another sign of good movement from England but they will feel they have done enough to be two in front.
33'
SAVE!! - Uzoho comes to Nigeria's rescue as he leaves his near post to stop Young's cross. The left wingback was about to find a number of team-mates with his cross but he was denied in the end.
29'
CHANCE - Alli plays Lingard in and the winger looks destined to score but Uzoho gets down well to deny him at the near post. Should be 2-0 to the Three Lions!
27'
More nervous moments for England as Moses tried to latch onto a cross but eventually the home side do enough to clear. That could be a sign that Nigeria are working their way back into the game.
25'
Nigeria nearly sneak in behind the England backline but Ighalo cannot get to a looping pass before Pickford.
21'
After Young's cross was cleared, Alli tries to create another opportunity after picking up the rebound but Uzoho comes out of his six-yard box to collect the ball.
20'
Young is clipped by Onazi and the home side have another free-kick in a good position...
18'
CHANCE - Sterling and Young combine to slice open the Nigeria defence but the Manchester United man sees his shot blocked at close range.
17'
England have put some lovely passes together but the final ball has just evaded them in the last five minutes.
14'
Just over 10 minutes gone at Wembley and England look good for their lead. They have shown plenty of power from set-pieces, while Sterling has looked sharp on the ball.
13'
CHANCE - Sterling turns his marker with ease before running towards goal but he tries to dink it across goal and is unable to find the bottom corner.
11'
CHANCE - Sterling shows tremendous pace to get into the box before winning a corner after his shot was blocked. Southgate's men then nearly double their advantage after Stones flicks a cross towards goal but Uzoho denies him at point-blank range.
8'
England fans will be delighted with this start but Nigeria need to sharpen up in midfield if they are to find an equaliser. It is still early days but England have shown they will dominate in the middle of the park so far.
7'
G. Cahill has scored a goal for England! Assist by K. Trippier.
GOAAALLLLL - Dream start for England. They lead 1-0 after a superb header from Cahill after the Three Lions won the corner. The Chelsea man peeled away from his marker and guided the ball into the top corner.
Trippier grabs the assist after his corner found Cahill perfectly!
6'
CHANCE - Trippier steps up and curls the ball around the wall but Uzoho is on hand to palm it away for a corner.
5'
Play about to resume and England have a free-kick...
4'
We have a stoppage already after Nigeria pair Balogun and Obi have clashed heads inside their own box.
3'
England make a positive start with Alli charging down the left but his cutback is blocked at the near post and the referee then halts proceedings and gives Nigeria a free-kick.
2'
A slight change in formation once again for England, with two wingbacks and Dier just sitting in front of the dence. Big chance for Alli, Young, Cahill to all impress with others breathing down their necks.
1'
The match is underway at Wembley. England in their traditional white strip, Nigeria in their new fancy attire that has grabbed headlines this week.
Good afternoon and welcome to our live text coverage of the international friendly between England and Nigeria from Wembley.
Today's friendly gives both Gareth Southgate and Gernot Rohr the chance to look at their squads before the World Cup in Russia. England are unbeaten since June 2017 but they have not been seen since their draw with Italy in March. Nigeria have won two of their last five and will be looking for a solid performance as they look to make some improvements.
While neither team will be looking past each other, England face Costa Rica on Thursday before then planning for their Group G campaign. England take on Tunisia, Panama and Belgium this summer. Nigeria will finalise their World Cup plans by playing Czech Republic in a friendly before doing battle with Argentina, Iceland and Croatia in Group D.
TEAM NEWS coming up...
England Starting XI (3-5-2): Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Gary Cahill, Kieran Trippier, Ashley Young, Eric Dier, Jesse Lingard, Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling.
England SUBS: Jamie Vardy, Harry Maguire, Adam Lallana, Danny Rose, Tom Heaton, Jack Butland, Nick Pope, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Danny Welbeck, Jake Livermore, Fabian Delph, Marcus Rashford.
Nigeria Starting XI (4-3-3): Francis Uzoho, Brian Idowu, William Troost-Ekong, Leon Balogun, Abdullahi Shehu, John Obi Mikel, Joel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, Victor Moses, Alex Iwobi, Odion Ighalo.
Pickford gets the nod in goal and that could be a sign that he will start in Russia. Sterling supports Kane up top and the latter will lead England this evening. Nigeria are captained by Mikel and they are boosted by Moses' return after he joined up with the squad on Friday.
Nigeria SUBS: Ola Aina, Daniel Akpeyi, Ahmed Musa, Tyronne Ebuehi, Wilfred Ndidi, Chidozie Awaziem, Agu, Elderson Echiéjilé, Oghenekaro Etebo, Kenneth Omeruo, John Ogu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Simy.
The two teams are on the field of play and we await the national anthems.
HALF-TIME - England 2-0 Nigeria.
England have looked a class above Nigeria and it was a top display in their first friendly before the World Cup. The one downside would be the lack of cutting edge in front of goal, with two or three chances going begging. However, Cahill and Kane showed composure and the movement has been outstanding so far.
Changes are expected by both Southgate and Rohr but the former Middlesbrough coach may wait to see if his team can grab a third.
Nigeria seem to be struggling with the tempo at Wembley and their fans could be worrying ahead of the tournament in Russia. Iwobi and Moses have been bright but some of their team-mates need to step up.
FULL-TIME England 2-1 Nigeria.
The referee ends proceedings and England do enough to grab the win at Wembley. The first-half was a walk over but Nigeria did well to respond in the second 45 minutes. Southgate will be pleased with the performances from Pickford, Walker, Cahill and Kane but others will want to do more next week against Costa Rica.
There were plenty of positives and negatives for both managers to take from that contest with Nigeria showing so much heart in the end. Both teams will need to improve ahead of the World Cup but it is a solid starting point for both squads.
That is all for tonight's coverage. Thanks again for joining us and goodnight!
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