Possibly the best illustration of how toothless England were for long spells of this never-in-doubt victory over the fourth-worst team in Europe was that they mustered their first shot on target in the 64th minute. It came from Trent Alexander-Arnold and it was routine for the Malta goalkeeper, Henry Bonello.
England had been ahead since Enrico Pepe’s eighth-minute own goal, forced by Phil Foden, who was the best player on the pitch. But it was all a bit vanilla, Gareth Southgate’s team not needing to overexert themselves and not doing so.
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