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Harry Kane scored a first-half perfect hat-trick to help England on to the brink of World Cup qualification, after a 5-0 victory over Albania.
Harry Maguire opened the scoring inside 10 minutes with a thumping header from a corner. While Jordan Henderson scored his first goal at Wembley just before the half hour mark.
But it was Kane who stole the headlines, scoring a perfect hat-trick, taking him to just nine goals off Wayne Rooney’s record of all-time England top goalscorer.
Gareth Southgate’s side now just require a point in their final qualifying game against San Marino on Monday evening to book their place in Qatar.
A change in system
The clash saw Southgate revert back to his tried-and-tested 3-4-3 formation, after receiving backlash for deploying an attack-minded 4-3-3 last time out against Hungary.
Manchester City’s Kyle Walker and John Stones paired Manchester United captain Maguire in the back three — the same trio that started the European Championship final.
While Chelsea duo Reece James and Ben Chilwell, who have been in fine form for the Blues, were the two wing-backs in the system.
The switch in system paid huge dividends for Southgate’s side, with the extra body in defense allowing the Three Lions to easily bypass the Albanians’ high-press.
Killer Kane
Three Lions captain Kane has not started the Premier League campaign the way he would have wanted.
Last season’s Premier League top goalscorer only has one league goal to his name so far this season.
But Kane shrugged off any doubts over his goal scoring nature, with a perfect first-half hat trick.
The Tottenham strikers’ third goal was unquestionably the pick of the punch, with a stunning acrobatic effort on the stroke of half-time.
The hat trick also meant that Kane has now broken the record for the most competitive goals scored for the Three Lions, with 38.
Henderson return
Henderson found his minutes limited for the Three Lions at the European Championship in the summer.
The Liverpool captain was selected for Southgate’s 26-man squad despite still recovering from an injury.
And once Henderson was fully fit, he found it hard to displace Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, who had formed an impressive alliance in the heart of the England midfield.
But the midfielder slotted seamlessly back into the midfield this evening, picking up a goal and an assist in the victory.
Clean sheet
It was another impressive defensive display from the Three Lions — picking up their 13th clean sheet of the calendar year.
There were a few nervy moments for the England back-line early-on, with Jordan Pickford making a brilliant save to deny Myrto Uzuni after a calamitous error from Walker.
But it was plain sailing for Southgate’s side after that scare, with Albania posing little threat to Pickford’s goal.
The clean sheet furthers this current England side’s record for the most clean sheets in a single calendar year, after breaking their record from 1966 back in September.
England Emile
England’s superiority also allowed Southgate to give Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith-Rowe his Three Lions debut.
Smith-Rowe has been in tantalising form for the Gunners, with six goal contributions in his first 11 league matches.
The midfielder was not included in Southgate’s preliminary England squad for this current round of international fixtures, but injuries have seen Smith-Rowe receive his first call-up.
Despite only making a 13 minute cameo, the Arsenal starlet looked bright against a tiring Albanian defence.
With qualification to next year’s World Cup all-but-sealed, Smith-Rowe will surely be in line to make his first start for the Three Lions against San Marino on Monday.
