Harry Kane's second-half strike guided England to a 2-0 win over Malta in their final home game of Euro 2024 qualifying.
Despite taking an early lead in the contest, England boss Gareth Southgate would have been underwhelmed by his side's lacklustre first-half performance against a Malta side ranked 171st in the world.
The Three Lions, who had already booked their place in next summer's tournament, experienced more frustration in the second period until a neat passing move saw Kane score in an eighth consecutive game for club and country.
Declan Rice thought that he had quickly added a third, before seeing his effort chalked off for an offside infringement, ensuring that the hosts had to be content with a 2-0 scoreline.
While the performance will not live long in the memory, England remain unbeaten in their qualifying campaign, which will conclude with an away game in North Macedonia on Monday.
Before the contest began, Wembley paid tribute to England and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton following his death last month.
Once the referee blew the first whistle, England wasted little time in breaking down the Malta defence as they took an eighth-minute lead in fortuitous circumstances.
Phil Foden's attempted cutback deflected off Enrico Pepe, who inadvertently sent the ball flying into his own goal.
Rather than build upon their quick start, England struggled to create too many clear-cut chances in the opening period, as the deep-lying Malta defence began to frustrate the hosts.
Kane would have briefly thought that a penalty was coming his way when he heard the whistle following a challenge from Malta goalkeeper Henry Bonello.
Instead, the Bayern Munich striker turned around to see the official brandish a yellow card for simulation - a verdict that VAR seemingly agreed with.
Having been left unimpressed with his side's first-half display, Southgate attempted to inject some much-needed impetus with the introduction of Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka at the break.
Those alterations ultimately failed to produce an immediate improvement in performance, forcing the England boss to call for further reinforcements.
Arsenal midfielder Rice was summoned from the bench, and he was joined by Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer, who ticked off a career milestone by making his international debut.
After failing to hit top gear for the majority of the contest, England finally put together an incisive move in the 75th minute when Walker, Foden and Saka exchanged quick passes before Kane swept home his 62nd goal for his country.
Rice then produced a sublime curling effort to beat Bonello, but his strike was chalked off after VAR deemed that an offside Kane had obstructed the goalkeeper's line of vision.
Ultimately, England had to settle for just the two goals, as they claimed a fourth consecutive victory since drawing with Ukraine in September.
Meanwhile, Malta are still yet to pick up a point in Group C, but they can be pleased with their battling display in front of a full house at Wembley. body check tags ::
