Trent Alexander-Arnold stole the show as England remained perfect in Euro 2024 qualifying Group C with a 4-0 win over Malta in Ta' Qali.
The Liverpool man scored a peach of a second for the Three Lions either side of Ferdinando Apap's own goal and Harry Kane's penalty, before Callum Wilson completed the rout with his own spot kick inside the final 10 minutes.
Having excelled for the Reds in a midfield role during the business end of the domestic season, Alexander-Arnold's inclusion in the first XI unsurprisingly dominated the pre-match conversation, and the 24-year-old justified his start with just eight minutes gone.
Receiving the ball close to the halfway line, Alexander-Arnold delivered an inch-perfect ball over the top for Bukayo Saka to chase, and the Arsenal man's low cross was turned into his own net by Apap.
Following that early strike, England remained in the ascendancy without carving out many clear-cut opportunities, but up stepped Alexander-Arnold to produce another moment of individual excellence in the 28th minute to double the Three Lions' advantage.
After evading the attention of a red shirt with a sublime turn, James Maddison's attempted pass into the box was cut out by Steve Borg, but the Malta defender only succeeded in setting up Alexander-Arnold to pick out the top corner with a stunning long-range effort.
Just three minutes later, Declan Rice seemingly wanted to better Alexander-Arnold's sizzling strike with his own vicious effort from distance, which was spilled by Henry Bonello, and Kane was sliced down by Matthew Guillaumier while attempting to follow up.
The Three Lions' all-time top scorer dusted himself down and coolly slotted the resulting penalty into the middle of the goal for his 50th competitive strike for his country, and it was no less than Gareth Southgate's dominant charges deserved.
There was time for Saka to force Bonello into a strong diving save just before the half-time whistle blew, but the Arsenal man had twisted his ankle only a few moments beforehand, and Southgate took no risks over his fitness as he brought on Phil Foden for the second half.
The Manchester City attacker almost had an assist to his name on the 59-minute mark as he slid through Kane on the right-hand side of the box, but the striker's delicate chip trickled just the wrong side of the post.
There was very little to write home about in the second period, but with England out of sight heading into the final 20 minutes, Southgate brought on Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze for his Three Lions debut.
However, it was another one of Southgate's substitutes who had the biggest impact in the dying embers, as Wilson's cross into the box was diverted into the gloves of Bonello by Borg, although replays showed that the ball had deflected off of the Malta captain's hand.
Despite Borg only being a couple of yards away from the ball, referee Igor Pajac pointed to the spot following a check of the monitor, and Wilson stepped up to drill a confident spot kick into the corner for England's fourth in the 83rd minute.
England, who remain top of the section with nine points from three games, now prepare to host North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday, while Malta remain bottom with three defeats next to their name and are next in action in Ukraine in three days' time. body check tags ::
