Three quick thoughts on Malta 0-4 England in World Cup qualifying Group F on Friday evening.

1. England limp towards World Cup

Job done for Gareth Southgate's England, and a decent scoreline, but their performance until scoring three goals in the last six minutes might be of concern.

Harry Kane scored his first goals of the season after another barren August to help England on their way to maintaining their two-point advantage at the top of Group F. Ryan Bertrand scored his first senior international goal with an 85th-minute long shot that Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg made a mess of. Danny Welbeck's injury-time goal was lobbed in from a Kane cross, before the Tottenham striker added the fourth to give England a 4-0 scoreline they barely deserved.

The deadlock had taken a long time to be broken after England might have scored twice in the opening seconds. Raheem Sterling powered into the box, and it took a smothering save from Hogg to stop him in his tracks. Soon after, Hogg made a fine save from Kane.

Phil Jones had the ball in the net in the 22nd minute, only for it to be ruled out following a foul on Hogg after a cross from Jordan Henderson. The Liverpool midfielder was given the honour of the captain's armband in the first match since Wayne Rooney's international retirement.

It was a first half in which Kane and Tottenham teammate Dele Alli were starved of space by Malta's massed defence, as both central forwards struggled to link up with Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the flanks. It was a first half of turgid mediocrity. Credit was due to a manful Maltese effort; they rarely lose by many, but Southgate's team seemed devoid of the ability to break down their opponent.

In the stands, England fans could be heard chanting: "Rooney, Rooney" -- singing for a former captain who has been making the wrong type of headlines. Their chanting was presumably a means of passing the time as such tedium was taking place.

Marcus Rashford's half-time introduction brought far more speed and power to the attack. Sterling, briefly linked with a move to Arsenal as part of the Alexis Sanchez saga, had been a disappointment on the left flank. As Malta tired after those first-half efforts, England began to find far more space and Bertrand made it 2-0.

Kane, having broken his barren spell, soon began to adopt the swagger with which he has taken apart far better defences than Malta. He played his part in the late flurry, first finding Welbeck to make it 3-0 and then adding his second as he lashed home in injury time.

Next up are Slovakia at Wembley on Monday, with England -- somewhat unconvincingly -- on the brink of booking their place at Russia 2018.

2. Southgate searching for right formula

Though he has performed well in West Brom's fine start to the Premier League season, the presence of Jake Livermore as anchor midfielder pointed to England's lack of options in that department.

Eric Dier, the first choice, was absent through suspension, while Nathaniel Chalobah sat on the bench. Southgate admires the Watford player, and has been appreciative of the 22-year-old's decision to quit Chelsea for first-team football, but Chalobah is just three matches into his second spell at Vicarage Road.

The signs here were that Livermore and Henderson might not be much of a partnership, though the former deserved credit for the lifting of tempo that led to Kane's goal.

Elsewhere, Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool on transfer deadline day with the aim of playing in central midfield for Jurgen Klopp rather than at wing-back, where both Arsenal and Chelsea had plans for him. Southgate appears to disagree for the moment, and chose Oxlade-Chamberlain "wide and high" as he explained prematch.

Oxlade-Chamberlain had England's final chance of the first half, and drove straight at Hogg when he might have chosen to play in Kane in the centre. He also had another long shot in the 75th minute, when again he had options, which suggested a young man anxious to make an impact.

That was his final involvement as now-former Arsenal colleague Welbeck replaced him.

3. What was the point in Joe Hart?

The selection of Hart as goalkeeper was a cause for controversy, since West Ham's summer signing has conceded 10 goals in three Premier League matches so far. Jack Butland's excellence for Stoke City has put pressure on Hart, this England squad's longest-serving player.

Southgate had chosen to see if Hart, the incumbent since 2010, could revive the form that has kept him between the sticks for so long, but with Butland around -- as well as Everton's Jordan Pickford, who missed out through injury -- he faces a far more concerted challenge for his place.

Hart's initial involvement was a little shaky. He made a hurried run out of his box to hack the ball clear, and then chose to wave by a shot from Ryan Fenech that briefly looked as if it might swerve back towards goal.

Thereafter, apart from diving for Andre Schembri's drive wide of the right-hand post in the 52nd minute, Hart had so little to do that giving him this game became something of a wasted exercise. A clean sheet might increase confidence ahead of Monday's match against Slovakia, but it would surely have been beneficial in the long term to give Butland some competitive experience.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by JOHN BREWIN

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