MALTA 0, ENGLAND 4
September heralded the return to goalscoring form for Harry Kane who scored twice against a stubborn Malta side in a forgettable game in Valletta.
England had endured a tough first half, and it wasn’t until the ineffective Raheem Sterling was replacing by the more direct running Marcus Rashford that Gareth Southgate’s side upped a gear.
Sterling’s miss summed up England’s nerves against a side determined to frustrate the visitors in a sterile first half.
Eight minutes into the second half Harry Kane scored his ninth England goal with a low shot into the corner after a ball into the box by Jake Livermore was cleared out to Dele Alli whose footwork dragged defenders out of position before he slipped in Kane who celebrated the end of August from seven yards out.
Gareth Southgate’s England side had a conservative look to it and made Malta look better than they were for much of the first half after Raheem Sterling made a hash of a second minute chance when put through by Kane – giving Andrew Hogg a chance to collect the ball before Sterling picked his shot.
Joe Hart had an easy night against Malta, earning his first clean sheet of the season while Kane and Rashford tested Hogg with long range shots in the second half but the edginess continued for England until a late goal flurry.
The game wasn’t safe until the 86th minute when England punished a tiring Malta side with the first of three late goals.
Ryan Bertrand fired home a 25-yard effort past a flapping Hogg for his first England goal to make it 2-0.
Kane produced a looping cross from the right for Danny Welbeck to flick past Hogg and score his first international goal for over two years in the 90th minute.
And Rashford picked out a great run from Kane to put him through for an injury time double to put extra gloss on a poor game.
Victory leaves England top of Group F – two points ahead of Slovakia who they play at Wembley on Monday.