It was the Three Lions captain Wayne Rooney who will take the most plaudits as he delivered two knockout blows to help Manchester United to defeat Newcastle United.
The United skipper struck twice in the first-half, his ninth and tenth goals in his last ten league games at Old Trafford, as the Red Devils threatened to run away with it.
Fellow senior internationals Phil Jones, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young were all celebrating further as Robin van Persie put them three ahead shortly after the restart. The visitors, who started with England U18 striker Adam Armstrong in attack, pulled one back through Papiss Cisse late on but it was too little too late as they went down 3-1.
England’s Gary Cahill helped leaders Chelsea maintain top spot in the Premier League with a convincing 2-0 victory over West Ham United.
The defender, who has 33 caps for his country, had come close to giving the Blues the lead before former Three lion captain John Terry pounced on a knockdown to break the deadlock just after the half hour mark.
Harry Kane pounced after just 57 seconds against Leicester City
The visiting Hammers, who included senior internationals Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing in their line-up, tried in vain after half time to claw their way back into it but their hopes were dashed as Diego Costa settled the contest on 62 minutes.
Raheem Sterling (Senior) secured the points with the only goal of the game for Liverpool as they overcame Danny Ings’ (U21) Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor.
Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson, both regulars in Roy Hodgson’s England squad, also started for the Reds.
Arsenal kept within touching distance of the top four with nervy victory over QPR.
Alexis Sanchez, who had earlier missed a penalty, gave them the lead before Olivier Giroud was sent-off for a headbutt. Tomas Rosicky did double their advantage but Charlie Austin’s late strike from the spot set-up a tense finish.
Kieran Gibbs and Danny Welbeck both started for the Gunners and Calum Chambers appeared as a late sub.
There were only 57 seconds on the clock when Harry Kane continued his fine run of goalscoring form for Tottenham Hotspur.
The England Under-21s forward scored his 15th of the season as Spurs took an early lead against bottom side Leicester City, and they went on to seal the points through Christian Eriksen in the second-half to win 2-1.
Patrick Bamford helped Middlesbrough win 3-0 in The Championship
Saido Berahino (U21) and Ben Foster (Senior) were unable to help West Brom stop a rampant Manchester City at The Hawthorns. Both Joe Hart and James Milner, fellow regulars for their country under Hodgson, were both involved in helping the visitors record a 3-1 win to remain three points behind Chelsea in second.
James Ward-Prowse (U21) and Fraser Forster (Senior) played their part as Southampton ensured they carried on their Christmas festivities with a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace – with Ryan Bertrand (Senior) among their scorers.
Everton had four England internationals in their side as they welcomed Stoke City to Goodison Park - but Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, John Stones and Ross Barkley were to suffer a frustrating afternoon as they lost 1-0.
U19 defender Joe Gomez helped Charlton Athletic record a 1-1 home draw with Cardiff City in The Championship and Lewis Cook (U18) featured for Leeds United as they lost 2-0 at home to Wigan Athletic.
Elsewhere in the second tier, Under-21 internationals Ben Gibson and Patrick Bamford appeared for Middlesbrough as they recorded a 3-0 home win over Nottingham Forest and Nathan Redmond (U21) played for Norwich City as they thumped Millwall 6-1 at Carrow Road.
Matt Grimes, a member of Aidy Boothroyd’s England U20 side, was in action for Exeter City as they defeated Cheltenham 1-0 in League Two.
