It is the tournament qualification that has come to feel impossible for England to miss – and not only because of their victory over Italy in Naples in March’s opening match, although that plainly helps. The top two nations in this five-team group will advance to Euro 2024 in Germany and there is even a possible safety net via the Nations League.
And so, with Ukraine beaten at Wembley in the second game, England had this stroll to another victory, another step closer to the inevitable, against limited opposition in the shape of Malta. The hosts are 172nd in the Fifa rankings, only three European countries below them, and there is a reason why they have won only seven qualifiers in 61 years of trying.
It went pretty much as everybody thought it would go, elitelevel players against a group that are several notches below and for the clearest example of the gulf in class, nobody inside this small but sprawling venue needed to look too far beyond the figure in the England No 10 shirt.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was given an opportunity in midfield by Gareth Southgate – as the right-sided No 8 – and he responded with a performance that showcased his near unique ability on the ball. His passing was on point, the weight of it, the fizz and assurance, too, often first-time. He read the spaces nicely, his positioning sound and there was also the vicious long-range blast for England’s second goal.
Yes, it was only Malta and it had to be pointed out that he had next to no need to do any defending. But it was nevertheless a tantalising glimpse of what he could do in an England shirt in bigger games. Alexander-Arnold has assumed cause célèbre status as Southgate has struggled to fit him in. The debate is about to get louder.
There was an early Ferdinando Apap own goal to get England up and running, penalties from Harry Kane and the substitute Callum Wilson and a debut for Eberechi Eze. The star of the show, however, was clear.
Alexander-Arnold was in the mood at the outset, his first action to drive up the flank like an old-fashioned winger, beating a couple of red shirts, crossing and winning a corner. And he was behind the breakthrough goal, getting side-on and whipping a ball over the top and up the inside-right channel for Bukayo Saka, whose low cross looked to have given Kane a tap-in. Apap bundled over his own line before it reached him.
It was easy to feel an echo from the early part of Southgate’s tenure. His team had been barracked here by the England support during a World Cup qualifier in September 2017, who declared them “fucking shit” and staged a mass second-half walkout. Although they won 4-0 with three late goals, Southgate said on Thursday that most of the fans were in the pubs at 1-0, maybe even 0-0 at half-time. Anger and apathy were the emotions.
Much has changed since then and the narrative from that bleak night was turned on its head here. With 20 minutes to go, many of the 4,100 travelling supporters made for the exits; the enclosure would be almost empty in the minutes before full time. Unlike the last time, the early leavers went with a smile. Apart from Alexander-Arnold, there was little for them to see.
T he own goal allowed England to ease into the occasion. Saka had started well, pace to burn, his movement shimmering with menace, but not as well as Alexander-Arnold, whose strike for 2-0 was a belter.
He was enjoying himself, strutting about and, when the ball broke for him after James Maddison had given it away, he set himself from distance and made the calculations. They were perfect, so was the technique, the ball flying up and over the dive of the home goalkeeper, Henry Bonello.
Alexander-Arnold was involved at the start of the move for the third goal, popping up on the left, although it was fired when Declan Rice ran on to the ball outside the area to unload a low shot, which Bonello could only parry. Kane was sniffing, there before the challenge of Matthew Guillaumier, feeling it and going down. There was no doubt about what would happen after he placed the ball on the spot.
England might have had more before the interval, Saka extending Bonello in stoppage-time although, by then, he had felt a heavy challenge that needed attention. He did not reappear after the interval, Phil Foden replacing him.
The second half came to feel like a pre-season friendly which, in a few more weeks, it probably would be. Southgate used his substitutes and Malta still struggled to cross halfway. Never mind Jordan Pickford being a spectator, the England defenders could have fired up the cigars.
The second penalty award was for a harsh handball against Steve Borg, Wilson’s cross having banged into him at close quarters; Wilson’s conversion was cool. And so England move on to the final game of this seemingly eternal season – against North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday night. Alexander-Arnold, surely, has to keep his place.
