England rounded off their first pair of Euro Qualifiers with victory over Montenegro on Monday, clocking up a 5-1 scoreline in Podgorica.
It means the Three Lions now have six points to their name in Group A, and with no more qualifiers until September, they can now turn their attentions to this summer’s Nations League Finals.
And Gareth Southgate’s side will head to Portugal with confidence, after another flowing performance against a nation who have previously proved tricky opposition.
This was England’s first win in Montenegro, having drawn on their two previous trips to Podgorica, and despite a comfortable scoreline in the end, they had to come from behind following Marko Vesovic’s opening goal.
With another young lineup, in which Callum Hudson-Odoi became the second youngest player to make his full debut in a competitive game since Wayne Rooney, the Three Lions could’ve crumbled.
But Southgate’s charges put the pressures to one side, stuck to their gameplan and sure enough, the goals followed with Michael Keane, a Ross Barkley brace, captain Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling all hitting the mark.
By the time Sterling had scored the fifth, it felt like a long time since England had been stunned when the hosts took the lead with their first real foray forward.
A long ball from the back was nodded down by Zarko Tomasevic and when Keane’s header out was picked up by Vesovic, he did the rest by placing a fine finish past Jordan Pickford after enjoying a little fortune to break past Keane’s challenge.
The strike brought the home crowd into a little more life, but England quickly steadied themselves and drew level just 12 minutes later. And it was Keane who made amends, with the Everton man nodding firmly home from a wonderfully flighted free-kick by Barkley.
Nine minutes later, England were ahead. Hudson-Odoi, who had just switched wings with Sterling, was given possession on the left and after cutting inside the area, his shot towards goal was diverted home with a firm side-foot from Barkley.
The impressive Hudson-Odoi came closer five minutes after the break, when he collected a pass from Kane to break inside and glide past two defenders, only for Danijel Petkovic to tip his low shot around the post.
England didn’t have to wait long for a third though, as Barkley smashed home his second of the evening after Sterling had done well to dig out a half-cleared cross from the right.
Kane added the fourth when Sterling led a lightning-quick breakaway, before crossing for his captain to slot home a simple finish.
And Sterling got the goal he deserved shortly after when substitute Jordan Henderson, in his 50th senior appearance, played a pass through for the Manchester City man. He made no mistake, slipping a low shot under Petkovic to add another international goal to his tally following last Friday’s treble against Czech Republic and completing another five-star display for the Three Lions.
England: 1 Jordan Pickford (Everton), 2 Kyle Walker (Manchester City), 3 Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), 4 Declan Rice (West Ham United), 5 Michael Keane (Everton), 6 Harry Maguire (Leicester City), 7 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), 8 Ross Barkley (Chelsea), 9 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) (c), 10 Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), 11 Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea)
Substitutes: 14 Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) for Dele 63, 17 James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) for Barkley 81, 19 Callum Wilson (AFC Bournemouth) for Wilson 82
Substitutes not used: 12 Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), 13 Tom Heaton (Burnley), , 15 James Tarkowski (Burnley), 16 Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), 18 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), 20 Jack Butland (Stoke City)
Manager: Gareth Southgate
Goals: Michael Keane 30, Ross Barkley 39, 59, Harry Kane 71, Raheem Sterling 80
Cautions: Ross Barkley 52, Danny Rose 90+2
