England pair Jordan Henderson and Dele Alli helped the Three Lions to a comfortable win over Malta at Wembley, but admit they're chasing a more ruthless team performance.
Dele and Daniel Sturridge scored first-half goals to break a well-manned Maltese defence, but England also saw a number of chances go begging to add to their tally.
And Liverpool midfielder Henderson, who provided the assists for both strikes, admits that the squad will be looking for a more ruthless streak when they face Slovenia on Tuesday.
England 2-0 Malta
2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Saturday 8 October 2016
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
"If we'd have put away our chances it would have been more, so that's probably most disappointing for us as we didn't get more goals," said Henderson, who was named as Vauxhall man of the match.
"I thought towards the end we got a little bit sloppy, which we need to work on.
"But overall it's good to get the three points and we scored a couple of good goals so we'll be happy with that but we want to progress."
Dele had already seen a header saved by Malta keeper Andrew Hogg before he poked home England’s second shortly after and the Tottenham youngster admits he could have had a hat-trick on another day.
"I do like to get in the box and get goals and assists and the chances were there tonight, so I can't complain, but maybe I need to be more clinical.
"[Gareth Southgate] is a fantastic manager, I've worked with him before and he knows what I'm about so he just told me to go out there and play my football and try to affect the game.
England's Dele Alli celebrates scoring the second goal against Malta at Wembley
"It was a solid performance from the boys today, we started the game strongly, we kept the ball and we dominated the game which we knew we would.
"So it's a good base to keep working on."
Henderson, who partnered captain Wayne Rooney in midfield with Dele playing in advance of them, is also keen to improve on the team performance in Ljubljana.
"We worked on it during the week and the number 10 role is perfect for Dele to go and affect the game in the space," he added.
"He likes to get on the ball and play one-twos and I thought he was brilliant in that respect.
"With me and Wayne, we've got to make sure we're getting the ball to him and give the lads a bit of protection when we’re attacking.
"That can be better, and it’s something we can work on that when we're going forward, that we're protecting the centre-halves.
"But we've got to be happy with the three points."
