ANOTHER GAME AND ANOTHER GOAL FOR KANE
● Southgate’s side seal Euro 2020 seeding
Striker becomes first England player to score in every match of a qualifying campaign as Kosovo are beaten 4-0
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 4-0 on a humbling occasion in the Balkans.
Already assured of top spot in Group A and their pool matches being played at Wembley, England knew they risked dropping out of the group of six seeded sides for next summer’s European Championship
unless they overcame tricky opposition in Pristina.
They 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 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.
Visiting fans and players have been shown unprecedented warmth in Pristina, where specially made “Welcome and Respect” T-shirts and banners were complemented by hundreds of St George’s crosses around the city.
There were thousands more English flags on display in the ground before kick-off as the
Kosovan fans displayed cards during God Save the Queen –a remarkable build-up that was followed by a comparatively underwhelming encounter.
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.
Southgate made five changes from Thursday’s 7-0 hammering of Montenegro, with Raheem Sterling returning to the line-up following his skirmish with team-mate
Joe Gomez.
Nick Pope came in for his first international start, with the Burnley goalkeeper denying the imposing Atdhe Nuhiu as Kosovo looked to catch England cold. Instead, while they did start the match brightly, the hosts found themselves a goal down in 32 minutes.
Lax defensive play allowed Winks, below, to break through the middle. Found by Alex Oxlade-chamberlain, the Tottenham midfielder’s first touch took him around Ibrahim Dresevic and behind the Kosovan back line, before showing impressive composure to slot home. It silenced the home crowd but was not the precursor to an immediately improved display, with Bersant Celina scooping over as the hosts looked to hit back before the break. Kosovo started the second period on the front foot, too, but failed to properly test Pope, and up the other end England showed a ruthless streak with three goals in the final 12 minutes.
Kane put the game to bed on 79 minutes, scoring at the far post after Sterling’s cross looped up, and became the first England player to score in every match in a qualification campaign.
Sterling fed substitute Rashford to make it 3-0 with a low finish, while Mount curled home his first senior goal in added time after Chelsea team-mate Fikayo Tomori came on for his debut.
“We went through a few spells where they had some pressure but we soaked it up and then towards the end of the game, when the spaces started to open up, we were clinical,” said history-maker Kane at full-time. “Four-nil is a great result.”