It is the tournament qualification that has come to feel impossible for England to miss – and not only because of their victory over Italy in Naples in March’s opening tie, although that plainly helps. The top two nations in this five-team group will advance to Euro 2024 in Germany and there is even a possible safety net via the Nations League.
And so, with Ukraine beaten at Wembley in the second game, England had this stroll to another victory, another step closer to the inevitable, against limited opposition in the shape of Malta. The hosts are 172nd in the Fifa rankings, only three European countries below them and there is a reason why they have won only seven qualifying ties in 61 years of trying.
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