If you’re taking a peek at this after the event, don’t miss Danny Taylor’s live match report from Malta:
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We’re done here, I think. To wrap up, news that Scotland won 3-0 in Lithuania and Northern Ireland followed suit in San Marino. Slovakia kept up some pressure on England ahead of Monday’s meeting, beating Slovenia 1-0.
Thanks a lot for reading, as ever, and enjoy your weekends!
I say that, but my main learning is probably that Rashford should play instead of Sterling based on this. He was far better than the man he replaced at half-time, full of bright ideas from the moment he came on. Not many others were similarly perky.
Full-time: Malta 0-4 England
There was something of a sheen applied to that victory at the end. England were, you’ll be shocked to learn, stodgy for the majority – even after Kane opened the scoring. But they did cut loose right at the end, and Russia 2018 looks ever closer. What exactly you learn from a game like that, I’m not entirely sure.
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Goal! Malta 0-4 England (Kane 90+3 min)
Rashford springs an onside Kane free, with Malta totally shot by now, and the striker lashes home. Actually that wasn’t great form because there was a Malta player down and I think the idea was that Rashford kicked the ball out. But play continued and England have a healthy margin of victory.
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Goal! Malta 0-3 England (Welbeck 90+1 min)
Welbeck had almost converted a Kane cross moments previously, and now Kane puts in another delicious ball that the substitute reaches ahead of Hogg and sends looping into the net. Well conceived and well taken.
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89 min: Rashford backheels Walker in and he flashes well wide when Vardy, unmarked, would have done far better.
@NickAmes82 Appreciate it's 'only Malta' and a mis-hit. But has there been a less celebrated first international goal than Bertrand's?
— Tim Priestley (@PriestleyTim) September 1, 2017
The contact was clean enough to be fair, it’s just that Hogg was well placed to get something on it. I agree though – he looked wholly underwhelmed!
87 min: In riposte, Malta bring on a blast from the past – ex-Coventry and Barnsley forward Michael Mifsud, now 36, winning his 125th cap. Well done! He used to be a real menace of a player.
Goal! Malta 0-2 England (Bertrand 86)
Bertrand’s first international goal is a raking 25-yard shot, fairly low, that beats Hogg a little too easily. He doesn’t particularly celebrate. That wraps it up, if there was any doubt.
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83 min: Paul Fenech now replaces Ryan Fenech. They aren’t related. We’ll continue to refer to him as Fenech, for ease, but do bear in mind that it’s a different Fenech. All clear?
81 min: Half a chance for Vardy, but he can’t get enough of a head on Bertrand’s cross and it goes beyond Kane. Meanwhile Slovakia lead Slovenia 1-0, so it really is important for England that they don’t mess up here.
81 min: From an England point of view there will be positive noises made afterwards, and one has to stress that Malta aren’t idiots and have played well, but if you can find much to commend this performance you’re doing better than me.
79 min: Fenech goes down but is helped up. England have 11 and a bit minutes, plus stoppage time, to hang on grimly cut loose and party.
77 min: 3-0 to Northern Ireland, a Steven Davis penalty, and it now looks much more respectable for them.
76 min: Rashford looks confident and has a go from similar range to Kane earlier, bringing a near-identical parry from Hogg. Now Danny Welbeck will come on for his erstwhile team-mate, “The Ox”.
75 min: Zerafa has, unfortunately, departed on a stretcher after a challenge with Walker. Ryan Camilleri replaces him. Northern Ireland are now 2-0 up, Magennis again.
73 min: Yes, Vardy’s movement does make a difference. Rashford clips a fine pass through to him from the left and Vardy tries to dink it over Hogg, sending the ball just wide of the near post. That is the kind of zest England just haven’t had. It’s 3-0 to Scotland now, by the way, thanks to James McArthur.
71 min: Josh Magennis has saved Northern Ireland’s blushes, one presumes, in the 70th minute against San Marino. Meantime, some fool or other escapes from the crowd to take a run on the pitch in Malta, and is wrestled down by security officers.
70 min: Here is Vardy, for Alli, and perhaps he can add a bit of spark.
69 min: Sometimes in these games a minnow shuts up shop and tries to keep the score down; to Malta’s credit they haven’t done that and are having a go, although one or two look a bit weary. I’d still say this is pretty poor from England though.
66 min: Almost a sight of goal now from Schembri after good work from Borg, and this time Walker is in sharply. If England aren’t careful there could still be a nasty surprise in store. It’s all very well going for “control” now they’re ahead but it needs to have some purpose.
@NickAmes82 Re: Waitrose sandwich. You've probably had a frontless fridge worth of ideas but if you don't like bland, try the Veggie Reuben.
— Richard Hart (@ricardo_hart) September 1, 2017
Noted. Mine was beef and ... something I couldn’t taste.
63 min: Could have been embarrassing for England there, actually. Pisani gets behind them on the right and if Cahill doesn’t get defend properly then there’s a Malta player waiting for a tap-in. He dives in superbly and snuffs out the cross. Lively attack from the hosts though and another reminder that they are still in it.
62 min: Scotland are still two up. Northern Ireland are yet to score in San Marino, still, which risks being embarrassing for them.
60 min: Kane lets fly from range and Hogg beats away to his left. Didn’t really look like beating him, but a good bit of initiative from the Spurs striker, who now looks a bit more in the mood.
59 min: A good, bold England side would turn the screw here. I accept the shark has probably long since been jumped on both fronts, but still ...
57 min: Not too far from the fairytale moment for Magri, who advances forwards and shoots wide from 25 yards. Hart dives to make sure it’s out of danger. Maybe Malta still pack a punch ...
57 min: August ends, Harry Kane scores. I’d better put that out there as everyone else has.
55 min: That probably makes sure of the win for England, really, but can they add a couple more?
Goal! Malta 0-1 England (Kane 53)
Hogg comes out to clear a cross but England keep the attack alive and Alli receives the ball in the box. He could have a crack at goal, with the defenders back behind the ball but not really set, but shows superb composure to hold it, turn and wait his moment, slipping the ball forward to Kane. The defence hasn’t got out so he is well onside, and has a simple finish from eight yards.
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53 min: Rashford is full of tricks and dummies Borg, who seems to charge him but isn’t penalised. And then ...
51 min: Often, in games like this, the favoured side gets a goal shortly after half-time. That hasn’t happened yet ... and Malta have a chance to break after Alli gives the ball away. It results in a turn and shot by Schembri, 20 yards out, which sends Hart diving full stretch to his right before flashing wide! A scare for England there!
48 min: Rashford skins his full-back, and in doing so achieves more than Sterling did in an entire half. Nothing results but it’s already a tad better.
47 min: Early little exchange between Rashford and Alli, with the latter tackled by Borg just as a pocket of space looks like opening up.
Peeeeep! The second half has begun
Will it get better?
England substitution: Rashford on for Sterling.
Positive perhaps, as Sterling had a poor half, but it could have been worth taking one of the midfield pair off and being a bit more progressive.
@NickAmes82 I struggle to identify the attributes that make Harry Kane 'top class'. Don't even get me started on our chosen midfield.
— Alex S Palmer (@Palmer1983) September 1, 2017
His runs haven’t been that sharp so far today although, to be fair, he would have scored had it not been for a quite superb save by Hogg.
Should England draw this and Slovakia sneak a win at home, by the way, then things at Wembley on Monday will suddenly look rather tense ...
In this group’s other games, it’s Lithuania 0-2 Scotland and Slovakia 0-0 Slovenia. Scotland would love everything to stay just as it is.
Northern Ireland are goalless in San Marino at the break.
“I would suggest taking Alli or the Ox off, and bringing on a 3rd centre back. Need to hang on for this crucial away point.”
Droll from Graham Randall, but you do know what he means. I still think this game will be won by a sub, maybe Vardy.
@NickAmes82 I'm borderline impressed by Malta. Tidy, lots of energy and bite. I think they'd finish in a League One promotion spot.
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) September 1, 2017
Quite possibly, although I’d have to see what they can do going forward first. They started pretty assertively but soon tightened up, partly because they couldn’t get on the ball of course, but it was also wise because England created two great chances early on when there was space.
@NickAmes82 This is embarrassingly poor. Surely Tom Davies and Harry (little Iniesta) Winks could do better than Livermore and Henderson?
— Suffolk Jason (@SuffolkJason) September 1, 2017
That central midfield of England’s is as static – and often as needlessly deep – as you thought it would be.
“I’m no Gareth Southgate, but if had caught wind that Malta were going to start Hogg in goal I would have responded by calling up (Ipswich Town’s) Gerken to balance things out. As it is, it’s fallen to Hart to bring home the bacon,” writes Peter Oh.
Whatever’s going on out there, it doesn’t taste particularly good.
Half-time: Malta 0-0 England
England were booed off there and to be honest that says as much as I need to.
45+2 min: England have a shot! The first for a while. Kane finds Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right of the box with a well-weighted pass, he checks inside and has a go with the left foot, but Hogg dives onto it.
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45 min: This has become utterly turgid from an England point of view but pretty interesting from a “they couldn’t, could they?” Malta perspective. It strikes me as the kind of game that England might win from the bench, perhaps through the sharp movement of Vardy or Defoe.
43 min: Pisani could spread the ball right for Malta and set up quite a nice situation, but instead tries a pass for Farrugia that is never going to come off in a million years. I understand: they want to impress with the ball when they have it.
43 min: Northern Ireland are also drawing 0-0, and they’re in San Marino, so there’s always someone worse off.
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41 min: Schembri turns neatly and tries to set Farrugia clear but he’s fighting a losing battle and Jones has few problems sweeping up.
38 min: We had a little break there while a Malta player was down. Southgate had a word or two with a few. The tempo really needs to pick up; England have created nothing since that header by Kane near the start.
#eng fans: "We're f***ing s***."
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) September 1, 2017
As you can see, it’s going well.
35 min: Sterling lets a ball run under his foot, accidentally I think, and Bertrand has acres of room on the left. He dinks towards the back post and Zarafa defends it superbly under pressure.
34 min: It’s, yes, another England set-piece, this time a free-kick on the right. Henderson’s delivery is nodded away again. it’s started to get fairly samey here.
33 min: England do now win another corner, though, from Agius after the defender skews an awkward clearance wide of his own post. Once again it’s dealt with quite easily.
32 min: Malta have come out a little bit more in recent minutes but, as was the case earlier, you suspect that’ll give England their best chances.
31 min: Scotland are now 2-0 up in Lithuania, which is fairly huge for them and for the rest of the group. Andy Robertson got it; it was Stuart Armstrong with the first.
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30 min: Kristensen goes down howling in agony after a foul by Sterling, who raked one down his achilles more due to poor timing than any malice. He’s ok though. Malta take the free-kick but opt to go backwards and play it around their defence.
28 min: Now Malta do get on the ball for a little while, for the first time in about 15 minutes. Jones has to clear on the edge of his own box and in doing so is caught by Schembri. Malta are quite happy to leave a bit on England here, it must be said.
26 min: Most of the danger is coming down that right flank and Oxlade-Chamberlain, delivering very well again after searing into space, earns yet another corner. This time Bertrand outswings it and Malta defend it well with Alli poised.
25 min: England aren’t exactly ripping Malta apart but if the home side don’t get some kind of foot on the ball for a bit soon you suspect they’ll find a way through. In the meantime, Scotland lead in Lithuania ...
24 min: Schembri, the Malta captain, catches Henderson and England have a threatening free-kick just beyond the left corner of the box. Your referee, by the way, is Mr Artur Dias from Portugal. He awards another corner as Magri heads behind, but Hogg punches it away very well.
22 min: Another England corner, won by Kane after a good link-up with Oxlade-Chamberlain. It comes in from the left, via Henderson, and ends up in the net from Phil Jones ... but the referee decides there was a foul, perhaps by Kane on Hogg.
20 min: Bertrand and Walker are playing very wide and high, but Bertrand in particular hasn’t had a lot of joy yet.
18 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain shows a mean turn of speed down the right and Agius has to concede a flag kick, turning his cross behind. The corner is dealt with although England retain possession. The tempo is all a bit slow once Malta get behind the ball though. After those two early chances theit discipline has been pretty good.
15 min: Alli tries to trick his way around the back but Hogg is smart again. Having not scored in the opening 15, we’re getting towards the “England must be patient” stage. Which is fine.
14 min: Malta press the ball well from the front, right up to Hart, and eventually force a mistake and a throw-in. It doesn’t result in an attack of note but they still look lively when given the chance. The pattern is now resolutely England possession, though.
13 min: Did I say Malta were playing in all white? They’re not, they’re in red. I mistook someone’s tracksuit before kick-off. We’ve all done it.
11 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain, he of the very busy last few days, pulls a nice ball back to Henderson that his new Liverpool team-mate sweeps first-time into the box. Alli connects, around eight yards out, but the ball is a bit behind him and the shot flashes over. Good, incisive move though and it’s not England’s first.
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9 min: England win their first corner as Kristensen tackles Sterling on the left. Henderson plays it short to Sterling, gets it back but daisy-cuts a harmless cross-shot into Hogg’s hands.
7 min: Yes, Malta look like a team willing to take a risk or two with the ball. How that will play out remains to be seen – it’s usually the massed defensive ranks that England have troubles mustering up any imagination against. I imagine the hosts will get forced deeper as we go on though,
6 min: The early signs, then, are that England will get a fair few openings here – as they should against a team that have lost all six. But Malta look willing to commit men forward when possible and, as well as Fenech’s shot, have had a couple of lively little attacks.
4 min: What a fine save from Hogg! England come again and Alli stands up a cross from the right. Kane is up, six yards out, to thump a header towards goal and you’re just waiting for the net to ripple. Instead, Hogg makes a truly breathtaking stop, getting down with superb reflexes and beating the ball away to his left.
2 min: A decent opening salvo from Malta now, too, with Ryan Fenech having a go first-time from 30 yards and drilling a shot not at all far wide. Promising for the home team.
1 min: England start brightly and Kane slips Sterling through. For a moment he’s in the clear, but for some reason he comes back onto his right foot and the goalkeeper, Andrew Hogg, is out sharply. If Sterling had shot first time it would probably have been a dream start.
Peeeeeeep! We are underway
England kick us off, right to left. Formality or banana skin?
Scene ahead of Malta v England. Decent atmosphere pic.twitter.com/89tzATxId6
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) September 1, 2017
Very nice!
The teams are walking out. England will wear all blue, Malta will wear all white.
Scotland and Northern Ireland are in Lithuania and San Marino respectively, by the way, at the same time as this. Both need to win.
“Do you have any thoughts on why Southgate would refer to Hart as the best England GK other than he really thinks so?” asks Josh Reynolds. “Such as wanting to give Hart confidence against weak opposition? I only ask because it appears that only Southgate thinks Hart is the best available.”
I don’t think Hart is quite the disaster zone people make out but his place is definitely under a greater degree of threat than ever, and rightly so. I just think Southgate likes to have a bit of continuity back there, especially in a side lacking vast amounts of experience. Would probably change with a poor result or two, or a clanger.
“No Eric Dier? Livermore instead? What is going on?” asks Mike Nagle.
I should explain – Dier is suspended for this one. But he’ll be back for Slovakia.
“I didn’t mean that as a complaint about yesterday’s blog,” reassures David Wall. “Even for a vegetarian, the listings for places to buy fish were more interesting than Arsenal’s feats of incompetence in the transfer market. Hope you have something good in for dinner during what is sure to be a thriller tonight.”
A bland Waitrose sandwich, David. Given the spectacle we might be about to experience, call it “method journalism”.
Any interesting players in the Malta lineup? Yes, actually. Sam Magri, the defender, plays for Ebbsfleet and represented England all the way through from Under-16 to Under-19 levels – playing in the Under-17 World Cup six years ago alongside the likes of Chalobah, Raheem Sterling and Jordan Pickford. He used to room with Sterling; they probably didn’t expect to reunite quite like this but Magri – who was at Portsmouth, QPR and Crystal Palace previously – committed to Malta two years ago on account of having a Maltese grandfather. This is his fourth cap. What a fairytale if he could guide them to a result!
If you refresh the page, by the way, I’ve added the subs to the team lineups below. Where are England’s midfielders, Chalobah apart?
@NickAmes82 If Oxlade-Chamberlain can't win a CM spot ahead of Jake Livermore, I'm not sure he'll be getting many games there for Liverpool
— Tom Wilkinson (@tomwilkinson84) September 1, 2017
He’s probably not suited to the deeper pivot that, presumably, Henderson and Livermore will constitute but to be honest I’m not sure why both of them need to be playing. And I’m not sure either of them really moves the ball on quickly enough to get England going along at a fair tempo. It’s an age-old problem, isn’t it? But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it’ll be interesting to see how they tackle this one.
“I asked on last night’s blog but there was so much else to cover (good places to buy dinner, for instance), so thought I’d ask again,” asks David Wall, who might just have preferred last night’s deadline day extravaganza to stay more firmly on topic.
“Is it mere chance that England never seem to be playing on the last day of the transfer window, unlike other nations, and despite that day so often falling in an international break? Is it UEFA and FIFA indulging our seeming obsession with the hype surrounding it all? Perhaps they could actually do us a real favour, schedule England to play next year, and start to wean us off that addiction.”
I actually missed that last night David, so I apologise, a lot to get through and those fish restaurants around N8 don’t list themselves. It’s a nice point, although I think the transfer window hysteria transcends even the joys of Malta v England these days. Wasn’t it ridiculous, though, that players implicated in potentially huge-money moves were primed to negotiate them on the same day as some vital qualifiers! It doesn’t help anyone.
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For those who like armbands: Jordan Henderson is tonight’s England captain.
Hugh Molloy writes: “Not sure I’m totally convinced by Livermore for England. He just seems, and I understand this sounds bluntly harsh, not quite good enough at football.”
He’s a competent enough player but broadly I agree – doesn’t seem to be England’s strongest position these days.
There’s a chance you might want to read some genuinely quality, nail-on-the-head journalism rather than my proselytising – in which case here is the brilliant Barney Ronay:
It’s trendy to knock international football, isn’t it, because you know – Premier League, net spend, Champions League, Neymar, Pep, Jose, Leo, everyone else you’re on first-name terms with. But if you knock it, you’re just not looking hard enough I’m afraid. The World Cup qualifiers have produced some tremendous stories already over the last couple of days and over the next two months it’ll only get better. This stuff matters – to so many countries, for so many reasons, it’s visceral, heart and soul stuff that has the capability of bringing a lump to your throat regardless of your nationality. It’s exactly what football means. I know, I’ve seen and felt it up close, and many of you will have too. That’s not necessarily something England inspire but look further – look at Bosnia qualifying last time around, admire how stunning it would be if, as is possible, Syria make it this. I could go on and on and on, but I know I had a similar rant about the Europa League last week and risk boring on. Do write in and disagree.
Tonight's starting XIs
Malta: Hogg, Magri, Borg, Agius, Fenech, Schembri, Muscat, Farrugia, Kristensen, Zerafa, Pisani. Subs: Bonello, Alex Muscat, Failla, Paul Fenech, Mifsud, Gambin, Clyde Borg, Ryan Camilleri, Johnson.
England: Hart, Walker, Bertrand, Cahill, Jones, Livermore, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sterling, Alli, Kane. Subs: Butland, Smalling, Cresswell, Keane, Stones, Chalobah, Defoe, Sturridge, Welbeck, Vardy, Rashford, Heaton.
This looks like a pretty workmanlike side that will win 2-0 with no frills. Like most England qualifiers then. Prove me wrong!
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Hello!
International football! Say what you like, but it’s a nice break from the all-encompassing talking shop of the transfer window’s last knockings. And it’s a pretty important few days in front of us too, as the race for Russia is hotting up and England could conceivably be home and hosed by this time next week.
As they very well should be, given the group they’re in. And the identity of tonight’s opponents should do little harm in furthering their cause: they barely troubled England in a drab 2-0 defeat at Wembley last year, and have lost all four previous meetings between the sides. It is hard to imagine anything much more dramatic than that happening today but you never know and, in fairness, Malta rarely take that heavy a beating. The only time that has happened in these qualifiers, in fact, was when Scotland won 5-1 at Ta’ Qali last September.
But there are no easy games, etcetera, and England might well remember that their last match here was a decidedly unconvincing 2-1 win in 2000 – the one where Richard Wright conceded two penalties on his debut and saved one. You’d almost pray for similar clownishness this time around just to spice things up; if you’re not that way inclined though, it’s a chance for Gareth Southgate’s side to get back into its rhythm with the World Cup nearing, and a convincing victory would go down well after that momentum-checking draw at Hampden in June.
Which will it be? Only one way to find out – stay right here!
Nick will be here shortly. Meanwhile, read Gareth Southgate’s thoughts on the England captaincy.
Gareth Southgate is prepared to delay a decision over the identity of his permanent England captain until next summer in the hope his younger players take on more responsibility and develop their leadership skills before the World Cup.
The manager has handed the armband to Jordan Henderson, Gary Cahill, Joe Hart and Harry Kane – all members of the squad who are expected to face Malta at the Ta’ Qali national stadium on Friday night – as well as the previous permanent incumbent, Wayne Rooney, since taking up the reins. Southgate had yet to tell his players on Thursday night who would lead out the side here but can see the benefits of passing the captaincy around.
