England vs Bulgaria result: Harry Kane hat-trick eases Three Lions to victory
Here's how the latest Euro 2020 qualifier played out
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Your support makes all the difference.Harry Kane's hat-trick helped blow away Bulgaria and continue England's European Championship qualification cakewalk.
After finishing third in the inaugural Nations League over the summer, the Three Lions got their international season under way at the stadium they hope to end the campaign at when Wembley hosts the Euro 2020 final.
England are among the favourites to lift the trophy next summer and qualification for the finals is well in hand, with March's drubbings of the Czech Republic and Montenegro followed by a 4-0 win against Bulgaria thanks to Kane's treble and a Raheem Sterling goal.
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Hello! Welcome along to live coverage of England's Euro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria at Wembley. Here's our preview by chief sports writer Miguel Delaney:
The team is in!
England: Pickford; Trippier, Keane, Maguire, Rose; Henderson, Rice, Barkley; Sterling, Kane, Rashford.
So Kosovo have just beaten the Czech Republic. They are proving a really strong side, the Kosovans, and England will have to be wary of taking them too lightly when they meet at St Mary's.
It means Kosovo are top of the group, with England second, although England have a couple of games in hand, including this one coming right up.
Group A
Kosovo, pld 4, pts 8
England pld 2, pts 6
Czech Republic pld 4, pts 6
Bulgaria pld 4, pts 2
Montenegro pld 4, pts 2
Latest news from PA this afternoon – Jesse Lingard has had to withdraw from the squad and he has returned to Manchester United.
Manchester United's Jesse Lingard has pulled out of the England squad through illness.
A poor start to the season meant the 26-year-old was a contentious selection for the Three Lions' Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo.
Lingard missed training on the eve of Saturday's Group A match against Bulgaria and was conspicuous by his omission from the 23-man England squad submitted to UEFA.
The Football Association later confirmed that the attacking midfielder will play no part for Gareth Southgate's men during this international break due to illness.
A post on the England team's Twitter account read: "£ThreeLions midfielder JesseLingard has returned to his club through illness. Get well soon, Jesse!"
Lingard is the second player to withdraw from England's initial 25-man squad after Manchester United team-mate Aaron Wan-Bissaka left on Tuesday due to a back issue.
↵Here's Tony Evans' exclusive interview with Jadon Sancho, who starts on the bench this afternoon:
Gareth Southgate has emphasised the importance of giving the nation something to cheer about ahead of this game. The hope, according to the England boss, is to offer a distraction from the political developments of the last couple of weeks:
We have helped to provide joy at a time when there isn’t a lot about for people. The cricket team have done that in a couple of significant moments already this year and I have loved watching that.
The World Cup final was brilliant and the Ben Stokes innings was a real last stand of British resilience and, living in Yorkshire, the atmosphere at Headingley probably added to that as well.
We all love those moments, sport should do that – sport should take you away from the day-to-day and allow us to dream and allow us to be excited about things that, in the overall scheme of things, aren’t important. There are far more important things, but we can bring joy to people and it is a privilege to be in a position to be able to do it."
There could be England debuts for Mason Mount, James Maddison and Tyrone Mings today. All three are on the bench.
The latter was a mortgage adviser before turning professional as a footballer, so a first international appearance would be a significant marker of progress for the Aston Villa defender.
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