Malta 0-4 England Six Things: subs the key

Malta 0-4 England – skysports.com

A late goal glut saw England run out 4-0 winners over Malta in Ta’ Qali, even if their performance was imperfect in spells against resilient opposition. Here’s six talking points from the match.

Hogg’s early heroics

England created good openings in the first quarter of an hour. Raheem Sterling was played through on goal within 90 seconds of kick-off but due to a quick recovery from battling wing-back Steve Borg, he cut onto his right-foot and was smothered by Andrew Hogg. Dele Alli then crossed high from the right to the near post for Harry Kane, but the Malta goalkeeper got down superbly to stop his header.

Farrugia isolated

The hosts had Joe Hart rushing out within the first five minutes to concede a throw in, which led to a blocked Bjorn Kristensen shot before Ryan Fenech struck narrowly wide from distance. Otherwise, captain Andrei Schembri’s defensive discipline meant he couldn’t get close to his planned strike-partner, the more advanced Jean Paul Farrugia. Bar the odd long-range pass from Steve Pisani, Farrugia had no service and his main task was to close out passing angles for England’s centre-backs, most commonly Gary Cahill.

Narrow England

When England got Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the ball down the right, he caused problems for wing-back Joseph Zarafa, drawing left-sided centre-back Zach Muscat out of position. Gareth Southgate’s men did not do that enough in the first half yet they did use Alli and Sterling, who were crowded out in central areas. The latter was too keen to cut inside onto his right foot, not helped by Ryan Bertrand’s reluctance to make overlapping runs. Lots of delicate through balls were attempted, but Sam Magri made some timely interceptions while fellow centre-back Andrei Agius used his physicality to good effect.

Spurs duo combine

Alli had been guilty of running into traffic for much of the first half while Kane hadn’t been at his best, but the duo showed in flashes why they have been so important for Tottenham over the last two years. The former appeared to have dwelled on the ball in the box for too long, but Malta gave him space to pick out his club colleague, who produced a clinical finish – on the first day of September…

Subs the key

Malta regressed after their substitutions. They missed the defensive stability of Ryan Fenech and the pressing of Schembri, the latter replaced by a 36-year-old Michael Mifsud, no stranger to Coventry City fans. By contrast, Marcus Rashford looked bright after replacing Sterling at half-time and Jamie Vardy provided the aggression and intent that had been missing from England’s display.

Late goal glut

Bertrand’s bouncing long-range effort put the contest beyond doubt with five minutes to go, before the visitors completed a seven-minute treble salvo. Another substitute, Danny Welbeck, got ahead of Magri and the goalkeeper to add a third, before Kane finished well from Rashford’s inviting ball. The late goals were a little hard on Malta, who defended well for much of the contest, but it relieves some pressure on England. In Monday’s home encounter with second-place Slovakia, some improvement is required.