England celebrated their 1000th game in style as they ensured qualification into this summer’s Euro 2020 tournament with an emphatic 7-0 win over a disappointing Montenegro side.
It took just ten minutes for the home side to take the lead at Wembley, courtesy of the returning Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – his first goal for the Three Lions since June 2017.
The goal was created by Ben Chilwell and the Leicester full back doubled his assist tally seven minutes when he floated in a free kick that Harry Kane headed home.
Chilwell completed an assist hat-trick in the 24th minute with Kane again nodding home one of his set pieces, this time from a corner.
Marcus Rashford made it four soon after as he smashed home the rebound after Harry Maguire’s header was saved, while Kane completed a first half hat-trick to make it 5-0 in the 37th minute.
A goalmouth scramble led to Aleksandar Sofranac putting the ball into his own net to make it 6-0 just after the hour mark, with Tammy Abraham finishing the demolition job with a seventh goal in the 84th minute.
England
Key Talking Point
England legends such as Paul Gascoigne, Tony Adams, Wayne Rooney and er… Glen Johnson were all present at the Three Lions’ 1000th game tonight and Gareth Southgate’s side were sure to give them a performance to remember.
Yes, it was only against Montenegro, but as the old cliché goes: ‘you can only beat what’s put in front of you’, and the home side did so – in some style.
Key to England’s vintage display were the performances of their full-backs. Both Ben Chilwell – who registered a hat trick of assists inside 25 minutes – and Trent Alexander-Arnold were sensational.
Their never-ending overlapping runs gave inside forwards, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, more than enough room to work their magic and England looked devastating going forward.
Defensively some concerns remain. Complacency allowed the visitors a number of good opportunities in the first half with Jordan Pickford coming to the Three Lions’ rescue on a few occasions.
Still, if you can’t enjoy a 7-0 win, regardless of the circumstances, you’re probably watching the wrong sport.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Pickford (7), Alexander-Arnold (8), Maguire (7), Stones (6), Chilwell (9); Winks (8), Mount (7), Oxlade-Chamberlain (8); Sancho (7), Kane (9*), Rashford (8)
Substitutes: Maddison (6), Abraham (6), Gomez (6)
Star Man
Picking England’s best player in the midst of all this chaos was always going to be a tough task.
Chilwell had a strong claim due to his inch perfect delivery from set pieces, however in the end it had to be Kane.
The Three Lions skipper took all of his chances in typically clinical fashion with his hat-trick moving him above Frank Lampard and Alan Shearer on England’s all-time scoring list.
I know it’s tribalism & football being slightly awful & all that but the fact that Harry Kane—nice guy, club loyal, great teammate, family man, became world class through hard graft Harry Kane—isn’t celebrated & loved by everyone & is still called a fraud drives me slightly daft.
— Charlie Parrish (@charlieparrish) November 14, 2019
Most goals scored all-time for England:
gbeng Wayne Rooney (53)
gbeng Bobby Charlton (49)
gbeng Gary Lineker (48)
gbeng Jimmy Greaves (44)
gbeng Michael Owen (40)
gbeng Harry Kane (30)Harry Kane moves up to sixth. pic.twitter.com/EicxD1ZXAL
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 14, 2019
Montenegro
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Mijatovic (7), Vesovic (3), Sofranac (4), Simic (4), Radunovic (3); Hocko (4), Lagator (3), Vukcevic (3), Jovovic (4), Haksabanovic (3); Beqiraj (2)
Substitutes: Boljevic (4), Jankovic (5), Raspopovic (5)
Looking Ahead
Next up, England travel to Kosovo, who will feel they have a point to prove after letting qualification slip through their fingers with a 2-1 loss in the Czech Republic.
Montenegro’s torrid European qualification campaign is now over but they do face the prospect of a friendly against Belarus on Tuesday.