Kosovo 0 England 4: Kane becomes first England player to score in every qualifier to lead Three Lions to top seeding
THIS forward line will frighten anyone.
Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount — adding to Harry Winks’ first-half effort — can terrorise any Euro 2020 hopeful.
In Raheem Sterling, returning to the England team after his one-game ban, the country possess a guaranteed creator.
He had a hand in two goals, providing chances for Rashford and Kane to tart up this scoreline.
Kosovo were decent enough but their tiring legs gave England the chance to score three times in the final 11 minutes.
They took them all.
Next summer, when Gareth Southgate is plotting England’s route to the final at Wembley, he will perm a forward three from Kane, Sterling, Rashford and the surprise element of Jadon Sancho.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, auditioning out on the left, had a troubling 59 minutes before he was replaced by Rashford.
Manchester United man Rash, tried and trusted at this level, showed his left-wing rival what is needed out there.
He scored the 83rd-minute third, finishing off Sterling’s impressive approach work with a tidy, controlled finish.
It was all very experimental, with five changes from the side who demolished Montenegro 7-0 at Wembley on Thursday.
Despite the clean sheet, it still looks very shaky at the back. Sterner tests lie in wait next summer but they signed off this qualifying campaign by scoring 11 times in four days.
The job is complete, with England finishing on 21 points at the summit of Group A. It is on to the big boys now.
Southgate is still piecing it all together but he will be pleased his grafter Winks got his first goal for England.
He is one of the manager’s favourites, one of the few players able to cope with the subtle tweak to the formation and five changes.
England scored after 32 minutes of toil, working the angles when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain drilled a pass into the Tottenham midfielder. It stuck to his boot, taking Kosovo’s defence out of the game before slotting past Arijanet Muric.
That move was the one bright spot of an uncertain first half, a plodding 45 minutes that was short on the sort of crisp passing Southgate demands.
On Friday, after that win against Montenegro, he talked of his exciting, vibrant England side. It took a while to see it here.
Kosovo left a bit on England again, as they did during their tingling 5-3 loss at St Mary’s in September.
They are an emerging side, with their fiercely loyal fans creating a right racket.
The sell-out crowd inside this 13,500- capacity stadium wanted a goal to celebrate.
Atdhe Nuhiu got a save out of Nick Pope, making his first start, during an impressive opening spell for Kosovo.
Midway through the first half they were already showing signs of wear and tear.
England eventually took advantage, capitalising on some tired legs.
Southgate had made changes by then, freshening things up when Hudson-Odoi was substituted with half an hour left.
England’s boss made sure to pass on some reassuring words for his struggling forward when he made his way off the pitch. His time will come.
Rashford came on in his place, livening things up with his raw pace down the left.
The next few months will give Southgate the chance to reflect and review the performances of his players.
Kane, Sterling and Rashford are reliable, guaranteeing chances and goals after working hard on their game.
When they look over their shoulders, they will be entitled to worry about what is behind them.
MUTUAL RESPECT BETWEEN NATIONS
England look vulnerable at the back and Southgate has yet to come up with a secure central defensive partnership.
At times, last night’s pairing of Harry Maguire and Tyrone Mings played like they had never met.
There is so much more cohesion going forward, with Southgate making his next predictable change when Mount was sent on for 18 minutes in place of the Ox.
It gave England another little lift but Sterling’s quality was needed for England’s second goal.
The Manchester City star has a sixth sense for Kane’s positioning, finding the captain inside the area to score in the 79th minute.
Sterling’s creativity also led to the third, the England forward engineering the chance for Rashford to score with seven minutes left.
There was still time to get a first look at Fikayo Tomori, who was sent on a minute later in place of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
And Tomori was soon celebrating with his Chelsea team-mate after Mount struck England’s fourth in injury-time.
They have scored 37 goals in this campaign and conceded just six, prompting Kosovo coach Bernard Challendes to claim they are the best team in Europe.
Next summer, we will get to find out for real.
