(Football news) England manager Gareth Southgate would have been disappointed with his team’s drab first-half display against a Malta team ranked 171st in the world, despite his team gaining an early lead in the match.
The second half saw more misery for the Three Lions, who had already secured their spot in the tournament for next summer, until a deft passing play by Kane resulted in his ninth straight game with a goal for club and country. Declan Rice believed he had added a third goal immediately, but his attempt was disallowed for offside, forcing the hosts to settle for a 2-0 victory.
Even though the performance won’t stick in your memory for long, England has won all of their qualifying matches. They will play their final match on Monday on the road in North Macedonia. Wembley honored Sir Bobby Charlton, the late great of Manchester United and England, prior to the match. Charlton passed away last month.
Following the first whistle, England quickly penetrated the Malta defense and, in a fortunate turn of events, seized the lead in the eighth minute.Enrico Pepe misplayed Phil Foden’s attempted cut-back, causing him to unintentionally send the ball soaring into his own goal.
As the deep-lying Malta defence started to frustrate the hosts, England found it difficult to generate many clear-cut chances in the first half, instead of building on their fast start.
After Malta goalkeeper Henry Bonello challenged Kane, he would have momentarily believed he was about to get a penalty.
Upon turning around, the Bayern Munich striker saw the official brandish a yellow card for simulation – a decision that appeared to be supported by VAR.Disappointed with his team’s performance in the first half, Southgate tried to give his team some much-needed momentum by bringing on Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka at halftime.
After all, the England manager had to request more reinforcements because those changes did not result in an instant boost in performance.
The call-up was for Chelsea forward Cole Palmer, who achieved a career high by playing for his country, and Arsenal midfielder Aaron Rice, who came off the bench.
England finally produced a sharp move in the 75th minute, after mostly failing to find their best for much of the match. Walker, Foden, and Saka exchanged fast passes, and Kane finished with a sweeping header for his national team.
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