Cole Palmer on his first call-up to the England team
England have qualified for Euro 2024 but there are still a number of qualifying matches to play before the campaign ends. The Three Lions will face Malta tonight and North Macedonia on Monday as they bid to top Group C and receive a high seeding at next summer’s tournament in Germany.
Gareth Southgate will be hoping to use these fixtures to cover some of his squad’s offline players as Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa and Cole Palmer will take part in a number of matches.
All three could feature against Malta, who are bottom of the table and have no points with just one match remaining. They lost the first leg 4-0 in June and have the added task of picking up points against England at Wembley. If Southgate introduces some of the less experienced members of the squad, Malta will believe they have a chance of challenging the Three Lions although this encounter will be a relatively straightforward outing for the national team.
Follow all the developments from the Euro 2024 qualifiers Plus get the latest odds and tips right here:
England 1-0 Malta
Minute 57: Close! The ball was passed to Kyle Walker, who passed the ball to Bukayo Saka. Saka brought the ball back into the middle, where Trent Alexander-Arnold played a weighted pass into the box.
Saka quickly ran around the left back and received the ball, but his shot missed due to a corner.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 21:01
England 1-0 Malta
Minute 54: The referee was not interested in giving England a penalty.
Marcus Rashford danced around Joseph Mbong before passing the ball through Steve Borg’s feet. He was about to skip behind the Malta captain but he grabbed Rashford’s shirt, held him back and pinned him behind to watch Mbong.
Rashford fell to the floor but the referee allowed the match to continue.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:58
England 1-0 Malta
Minute 51: Phil Foden kicked the ball into the penalty area from a corner to find Harry Maguire. The English defender headed the ball away but did not create enough force to beat goalkeeper Henry Bonello.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:54
England 1-0 Malta
48 min: Kieran Trippier is moved to the left side of the field and Walker plays at right-back. Marcus Rashford receives the ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He bypassed the Malta defense, dribbled into the penalty area and won a corner.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:53
Second half! England 1-0 Malta
Gareth Southgate made a number of changes at half-time. Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka came on to replace Conor Gallagher and Fikayo Tomori.
It’s a drastic change that will bring pace and pace to proceedings.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:49
HT England 1-0 Malta
He only had two shots in the first half against Malta, but both failed to hit the target.
It was the first time England failed to score a single shot on target in the first half of a home international match since November 2017 in a friendly against Germany.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:42
HT England 1-0 Malta
(PA)
(FA via Getty Images)
(Beautiful images)
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:38
Half time! England 1-0 Malta
Minutes 45+1: The first 45 minutes end. England took the lead, but it was not a positive performance for Gareth Southgate’s team.
They seem disjointed and lacking energy. While they played fast, dangerous football, Malta held firm and only an own goal separated the two teams.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:34
England 1-0 Malta
Minute 42: Harry Kane made a pass from the air and quickly threw it out to Marcus Rashford. Rashford replaced Joseph Mbong, who received the ball and took the corner.
Phil Foden swung the ball into the middle, where a series of aggressive players forced the referee to blow his whistle and award a free kick to Malta.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:29
England 1-0 Malta
39 minutes: Conor Gallagher rounds Matthew Guillaumier and tries to run quickly onto the field. The Maltese midfielder tried to recover and clipped Gallagher’s heel, causing him to fall and receive a yellow card.
Mike JonesNovember 17, 2023 20:26
