Southgate coy on England future; hails lively Lingard on debut

Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge made key contributions as England secured a 2-0 victory over Malta in a 2018 World Cup qualifier at Wembley on Saturday.

“Dele is ideal for that position”, said Henderson afterward, and the Tottenham man was very lively.

A pattern of England domination was established right from the start and a theatrical save from Andrew Hogg in the Malta goal was all that prevented the hosts taking an eighth-minute lead – Wayne Rooney’s powerful drive forcing him into action.

Interim England boss Gareth Southgate would not be drawn on his future, but was impressed with Jesse Lingard’s performance on debut.

Southgate and England will expect a much trickier assignment in Ljubljana when they take on Slovenia, who claimed an important 1-0 home win over Slovakia, in 3 days’ time.

But he feels the players need to be more ruthless in front of goal in the caretaker manager’s three remaining matches against Slovenia, Scotland and Spain.

Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli scored as England produced a mature performance to beat Malta 2-0 in their second World Cup qualifier in Group F.

Gareth Southgate is the caretaker manager now, with The FA confirming that the former Under-21 boss will be in charge until at least the spain friendly on November 15.

Wayne Rooney was the target of some England fans’ jeers during Saturday’s win.

There also should have been more variety with Alli.

ENGLAND: Hart 6; Walker 7, Cahill 6, Stones 6, Bertrand 5; Henderson 8, Rooney 5, Lingard 7, Alli 7, Walcott 6; Sturridge 7. Subs: Mifsud 6, Rowen Muscat n/a.

Shy of a Lingard shot that flew wide, England struggled to create chances as the game wore on. Nearly a wonderful start to his senior England career. Henderson whips another sublime cross into the box for Sturridge to plant a well-placed header beyond the dive of Hogg.

He did, however, force Hogg into a couple of saves.

Jordan Henderson played our most probing passes. The England worldwide has struggled in the Premier League this term and this has urged Jurgen Klopp to cut down on his playing time. Whenever he tried a more insightful pass his accuracy was generally awry and if Southgate is to persist in finding a place for his captain for his leadership credentials, then a deep-lying midfield role is not it.

The best fell to Alli, who blazed the ball over the bar as he ran to meet it at full tilt.

It wasn’t a particularly thrilling game, and the broad consensus seems to be that England should’ve put four or five goals past Malta.

England have now won their last 14 qualifying games and are unbeaten in their last 31 qualifiers overall (won 24, drawn 7).