Ampadu ‘expected more’ from Wales after first-half collapse against England | OneFootball

Wales midfielder Ethan Ampadu says Wales expected more from themselves against England after their early first half collapse condemned them to a 3-0 defeat.

Craig Bellamy’s side found themselves three down within 20 minutes of their friendly against the Three Lions after goals from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka, and were fortunate not to be further behind as the hosts missed further chances to extend their advantage.

Wales put in an improved second-half performance and should have found the back of the net themselves were it not for England shot stopper Jordan Pickford.

Leeds captain Ampadu believed it was a good test for his side, but was disappointed by how the match panned out.

“It was a test against very good quality,” Ampadu said. “Obviously on Monday we’re going to face that (Belgium) but very disappointed with ourselves, we expected more from ourselves. We prepared well, just didn’t execute, especially the first half. A lot of lessons learnt.

“We understand that it’s Wembley, we prepared well and were used to it. There was never that feeling of shellshocked or starting off like that, I just think we started poorly. No matter where we played or who we played, if you play like that or start like that, there’s going to be problems.”

The Dragons’ attention now turns to a crucial World Cup 2026 qualifier against Belgium on Monday night, where they currently sit third in Group J, level on points with their opponents and one point behind North Macedonia.

A win will massively boost Wales’ chances of back-to-back World Cups, and despite a demoralising defeat against a local rival, the 25-year-old says there is no time to dwell with such a crucial match on the horizon.

“We know what we need to do, we know we need to get a result,” he said. “Better performance and better result.

“We know how big Monday is and whether the morale is gone or egos have been bruised, we have to pick ourselves up as a team, which we’ve already spoken about and it’s time to go again.”