Tuesday 13 October 2015 07:06, UK
England completed their European Qualifying campaign with a 10th consecutive victory as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Lithuania in Vilnius.
Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain struck either side of an own goal by Lithuania goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis as England qualified for the European Championship with a 100 per cent record for the first time in their history.
Here, we pick out some of the top talking points from a satisfying night for Roy Hodgson's side…
Perfect 10 for England
Ten wins, 31 goals scored and only three conceded. The quality of the opposition may not have been the highest, but Hodgson and his men deserve credit for the manner in which they have breezed through Group E. England are only the sixth team in European Championship history to qualify with a 100 per cent record - and they are the only team to achieve it this year.
"They did their job really, really well," said former England captain Terry Butcher in the Sky Sports News HQ studio. "The best thing about it is that there's a smile on the face of English football. Ten out of 10, no England manager has ever done that, so Hodgson has created history as well. I think he should be proud. You can only beat the teams in front of you, and they have done that very well."
Barkley impresses again
Ross Barkley followed up his man-of-the-match performance against Estonia with another impressive showing in Vilnius. The Everton man was fortunate with the deflection for his opening goal, but he was at the heart of England's attacking play right up until his 73rd-minute substitution and he almost doubled his tally with a towering header in the second half.
Butcher was glowing in his praise of the 21-year-old. "One of the major things about this qualification campaign is that Ross Barkley must play," he said. "He's got to play because he's a genius. He reminds me so much of when I played with Gazza in the build-up to the World Cup in 1990. The more you see of him, the more you think he's a creative genius, and he scores goals as well."
Kane frustrated
It was a less satisfying evening for Harry Kane. The Tottenham man's desperation to find the net was clear as he attempted eight shots in his 59 minutes on the field, and he appeared to have succeeded when his powerful 35th-minute effort beat Arlauskis. Unfortunately for Kane, however, replays showed the ball had gone in off the Lithuania goalkeeper after coming back off the post.
So, after scoring three goals in his first four England games, Kane was unable to add to his tally in their final two fixtures. The 22-year-old might have hoped to make a bigger impression in Wayne Rooney's absence, but Butcher feels he offers a valuable alternative to England's other striking options. "England have got the pace of Sturridge, they've got Welbeck, they've got Rooney, but in Kane they have an old fashioned centre-forward who's very mobile and shoots on sight," he said. "He hold the ball up and bring runners into play."
Ings becomes No 33
England's canter through Group E has given Hodgson plenty of opportunities to experiment with his team selection. Liverpool's Danny Ings became the 33rd player to feature in their qualifying campaign when he replaced Kane in the second half, and Hodgson made eight changes to his line-up in total as Kane, Barkley and Adam Lallana were the only men to keep their places.
"He's used 33 players - young and old - and they've all had a taste of things," said Butcher. "I think it's good he's got a lot of choice. He's got soul-searching to do and some important decisions to make. He's now got to whittle down the numbers for his final 23."
Can they keep up the momentum?
Before Hodgson settles on his final squad for Euro 2016, however, England have a string of tricky friendlies to contend with. Next month's clashes with Spain and France will provide far sterner tests, and they also face Germany in the New Year.
The challenge for Hodgson will be to keep the momentum going ahead of next summer's tournament. "When you're playing Germany, France and Spain, you have to keep the momentum going, because England can get beaten, and then there would be more doubters," said Butcher.
The friendlies will also give Hodgson more opportunities to examine his options. "The tests will come in their friendlies but all England can do is do their very best, work hard together and get an understanding," added Butcher. "They're in good shape."
