Malta vs England LIVE: Result and reaction from Euro 2024 qualifier after Trent Alexander-Arnold nets stunner
Malta 0-4 England: Alexander-Arnold, Harry Kane, Callum Wilson and an own goal saw Gareth Southgate’s men cruise to an expected win
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Your support makes all the difference.England resume their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on Friday night as they face Malta away from home with the plan of maintaining their winning start.
Gareth Southgate’s side defeated both of their most likely rivals for a top-two finish, Ukraine and Italy, in their opening two matches in this qualifying campaign while Malta have lost to Italy as well as North Macedonia - who the Three Lions will face next week.
This round of fixtures is quite forgiving for England, especially after such a long season, and Southgate will be expecting his side to take a big step closer to qualifying for the next summer’s finals in Germany.
The England boss will need to make some key decisions in terms of personnel, especially when it comes to his Manchester City stars who only ended their season last week. Eberechi Eze is in mind to make his debut and many of the squad’s fringe or inexperienced players could get the nod in a game England should dominate.
Relive all the action as England thump Malta:
Malta vs England
Tonight’s venue. Will Malta shock the Three Lions or is this match a formality?
England’s future is about to be defined – and it’s out of Gareth Southgate’s control
As the England players arrived at St George’s Park this week, there was more than one that got messages detailing their representatives’ latest discussions as regards their futures. It is likely to be a theme of this international break, along with jokes about Jack Grealish’s last few days.
Gareth Southgate may be largely set on the spine of his team, but the players that form that spine are very far from set on their futures.
All of Harry Kane, Mason Mount, Declan Rice and Harry Maguire are currently negotiating their futures, with Jude Bellingham having just completed a deal with Real Madrid, and ongoing interest in Jordan Pickford. If any of them step out, as is likely to be the case in forgiving fixtures against Malta and North Macedonia, Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher also face uncertainty.
England’s future is about to be defined – and it’s out of Gareth Southgate’s control
The spine of England’s team could be in very different places by the end of the transfer window
Malta vs England prediction
No contest in terms of the outcome of course, so it’s about how clinical and intense England can be in the humid conditions. Malta 0-4 England.
Malta vs England predicted line-ups
Malta XI: Bonello, Attard, Borg, Apap, Corbalan, Muscat, Guillaumier, Yankam, Mbong, Jones, Satariano
England XI: Pickford, Trippier, Guehi, Maguire, Shaw, Rice, Gallagher, Eze, Saka, Kane, Maddison
What is the England team news?
It’s not yet clear whether Man City’s stars will feature in the match given their Champions League exertions - and subsequent celebrations - but it’s likely Gareth Southgate will offer a chance to a few players who are not habitual starters.
Marc Guehi could be in line to win just his fourth cap in defence and Crystal Palace teammate Eberechi Eze is hoping for his senior debut with the national team.
Jude Bellingham has just completed his transfer to Real Madrid but will not be playing in this break as he recovers from injury.
How to watch Malta vs England
The Euro 2024 qualifier kicks off at 7:45pm BST on Friday 16 June.
England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers are free-to-air after Channel 4 secured the rights for all Three Lions games for two years. Fans can stream the match via Channel 4’s app and desktop website.
Malta vs England
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Euro 2024 qualifier between Malta and England.
Gareth Southgate’s men are back in action and looking to record another win after victories over Ukraine and Italy earlier in the campaign.
They sit top of group C and with a battle against North Macedonia to come during this clump of fixtures they will be confident of taking a huge step closer to qualifying for the tournament.
We’ll have all the updates, team news and line-ups ahead of kick off at 7:45pm so stick around.
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