England vs Bulgaria result: Few surprises as Three Lions ease to win with little fuss

England’s perfect record in this qualification campaign continues, in a game that displays one the many imperfections in international football right now.

Bulgaria, a country who have previously almost always put out a respectable team and one of the World Cup’s greatest ever teams, were reduced to the role of minnows and a match where the only competitive question was around the extent of England’s winning margin. It was 4-0 in the end, Harry Kane hitting a hat-trick to go above Geoff Hurst in the country’s scoring charts with 26 in all, Raheem Sterling claiming the other in yet another display that indicated he has moved onto another level.

Or at least it would, if the opposition weren’t so submissive. This is also why it’s difficult to read too much into this from an England perspective, too. They are now undeniably one of the best teams in the world and potential Euro 2020 winners but their ability to just trample over teams like this Bulgaria and the Czech Republic side in this group is as much to do with a wider problem in international football as their own rise, and the FA’s fine structural work.

The way they - and the other wealthiest western European countries like France, Spain and Germany - have managed to mega-industrialise youth production is a connected factor in why Bulgaria and so many other eastern European countries are suffering a crisis in their own youth production, as the old structures break down.

Here, Krasimir Balakov was forced to give a debut to a naturalised 31-year-old Brazilian midfielder in Wanderson, who has never amounted to much as a player beyond a few years in the Bulgarian national league. He was never going to do much in this game.

The only surprise - bar that it was a mere 1-0 at half-time - was maybe the rather functional nature of Southgate’s midfield. Despite having so many ball-players in the squad, he went with one player who is primarily a ball-winner in Declan Rice and two ball-runners in Jordan Henderson and Ross Barkley.

It was difficult not to link this to a more rigid first-half performance, especially against a Bulgarian team willing to cede the vast majority of the pitch in front of their own 18-yard box.

A counter-argument from Southgate might be the Liverpool point that it is precisely this type of midfield that is necessary to free the attackers in front of them. And freed Sterling was.

This was yet another game where he displayed how he’s soaring onto another level as a player.

He is, however, also able to dig in. It was Sterling’s persistence - and quite a lot of Bulgarian incompetence - that led to a classically Manchester City cut-back goal.

There are fair questions about why a visiting side who were seemingly so determined to themselves play a classically defensive approach went for a modern proactive approach to goal-kicks, that seeing keeper Plamen Iliev almost inevitably rush it and put centre-half Vasil Bozhikov under pressure.

Sterling and the rest of the England attack were already just ready to pounce on them in that ravenous manner that indicates inherent knowledge you’re so superior. So it was the forward so easily snapped on that bad pass, got around Bozhikov, and set up Kane.

That was that as far as any semblance of a contest. That’s because this is it as far as any semblance of a Bulgarian team.

It was thereafter just a question of how many England would get, and when.

Marcus Rashford was brought down for the first penalty just before half-time, with Kane naturally scoring, before completing his hat-trick after being fouled himself for the second penalty later on.

In between, the captain also set up for Sterling for the easiest of finishes.

It was the easiest of matches, but just another facile win.

Afterwards, Rice described it as “another tough game”, with a straight face.

England are headed straight for Euro 2020, with barely a bump on the road. There may barely be a goal conceded on the road. There’s just too much of a contrast.