Sunday 9 October 2016 10:34, UK
Gareth Southgate's reign as interim England manager began with a 2-0 victory over Malta in Saturday's World Cup qualifier at Wembley.
Southgate, in temporary charge after Sam Allardyce's departure last week, watched as Daniel Sturridge headed the opener in the first half, with Dele Alli dispatching their second before a quiet second half.
Here, we pick out five talking points from a solid but unspectacular victory for the Three Lions…
A few weeks ago Gareth Southgate was expecting to spend the international break preparing for the U21s' meetings with Kazakhstan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Allardyce's sudden departure has thrust him into an unfamiliar role, and he can have few complaints about his first game in charge.
It was not the thrashing many people had anticipated, but England could hardly have been more comfortable. Eighty per cent possession and 20 shots to Malta's one highlighted their dominance, and their two-goal half-time lead allowed them to coast through the second period and conserve their energy for Tuesday's trip to Slovenia.
A meeting with Malta is unlikely to have much bearing on whether Southgate gets the job on a permanent basis, but it's a platform to build on and the 46-year-old was pleased with the result. "I thought we did some very good things," he told Sky Sports. "After a difficult 10 days, for them to play like they did in the first half was pleasing. There's a lot more to come."
Jordan Henderson has made a strong start to the season with Liverpool and his impressive form continued at Wembley. The 26-year-old was deployed in his usual deep-lying midfield role, but that didn't stop him being England's main creative outlet.
He carved Malta open with a string of accurate long-range passes in the first half, setting up Jesse Lingard for a glorious chance before providing the assist for his club team-mate Sturridge to score the opener. He was heavily involved in the second goal, too, bursting into the box and teeing up Alli to find the net at the second attempt.
Henderson was a peripheral figure at Euro 2016, but recent evidence suggests he may be worthy of a more prominent role in the national side. Southgate will have been impressed by what he saw.
Rooney may not have a future in Manchester United's midfield but he was back in the middle of the park for Southgate's first game in charge of the national team - just as he was under Allardyce against Slovakia.
He saw plenty of the ball, taking 170 touches and completing 133 passes, but his contribution was minimal compared to his midfield partner Henderson, and he was also fortunate to avoid punishment for a studs-up challenge on Malta captain Andre Schembri in the first half.
England's midfield was rarely troubled in a defensive sense by the Group F minnows, but with Eric Dier waiting in the wings, Rooney offered little to suggest he would merit a place in the starting line-up against stronger opposition.
Sturridge only played eight minutes of England's opening group game against Slovakia last month, so he will have been pleased to mark his return to the starting line-up with a goal against Malta.
The Liverpool man made the most of slack marking to guide Henderson's cross into the net, and he would have added to his tally were it not for a combination of wasteful finishing and impressive goalkeeping by Malta's Andrew Hogg.
All in all, though, it was a good night's work for the 27-year-old. England have real competition for places in attack, but Harry Kane's injury has given Sturridge a chance to stake his claim. He will be hoping to keep his place in the team over Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford against Slovenia.
The result was never in doubt here, but Southgate's credentials will be more strongly tested on Tuesday night in Ljubljana. The Three Lions needed an 86th-minute winner from Rooney on their last trip to the Slovenian capital in June 2015, and it will be another tricky test this time around.
Southgate may still be in place when England welcome old foes Scotland to Wembley in a months' time, and then there's the prospect of a showpiece friendly against Julen Lopetegui's Spain. Southgate and his players put the Allardyce affair behind them with Saturday's easy win over Malta, but there are far more difficult tests ahead.
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