England claim top seed but still work to do

KOSOVO ENGLAND 0 4

ENGLAND head to Euro 2020 among the top seeds after goals from Harry Winks, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount saw Gareth Southgate’s men overcome Kosovo on a humbling occasion in the Balkans.

Already assured of top spot in Group A and their pool matches being played at Wembley, the Three Lions knew they risked dropping out of seeded sides for next summer’s European Championship unless they overcame tricky opposition in Pristina.

England wobbled at times at the rocking Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri, but Winks and Mount’s first international goals bookended a victory which also saw Kane and Rashford on target, on a night when the reception was more memorable than the match itself.

The UK was part of the international coalition which forced the Serbian forces to withdraw following clashes with ethnic Albanians in the territory in the late 1990s, with England’s first match in Kosovo allowing the locals to show their gratitude.

Southgate has plenty to think about over the winter months after what was a disjointed display for large periods, with Kosovo threatening a shaky defence and the midfield dynamic still not looking quite right in their final competitive match ahead of Euro 2020.

Winks’ first-half effort calmed some nerves, with Kane, Rashford and Mount adding second-half gloss to a win that sees them among the top six sides for the draw at the end of this month.

Southgate felt it was a good test for his side.

The England boss said: “I think it was a tight game. It was a good test for us really. Difficult pitch, in particular, lots of people slipping and a few passes went astray.

“But we needed a tighter game. It was the sort of challenge I was pleased we got.

“We had to withstand spells of pressure, gave them a few halfchances that on another night could be more of a problem, but in the end our counter-attacking was absolutely ruthless.”

And Southgate felt the return of Raheem Sterling to the side drew a line under last week’s incident involving the City forward and Joe Gomez.

He said: “I think that you have to work through any difficulties you have and the whole group have done that really well. I think we come out of this stronger than we started it, frankly.”