England is almost certain of participating in the 2022 World Cup. The Three Lions recorded a 5-0 victory over a hopeless Albania on Friday evening; all goals were scored in the first half. Harry Kane was responsible for a hat trick. England lead Group I with 23 points; Poland won 1-4 against Andorra and follows with 20 points. Because England closes on Monday with a visit to the last San Marino, and it has a significantly better goal difference than Poland, the first place is almost in.
England played with five other names than in the World Cup qualifier against Hungary (1-1) exactly a month ago. Mason Mount, Declan Rice and Luke Shaw were not available due to injuries; Tyrone Mings and Jack Grealish ended up on the couch. Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips, Reece James and Ben Chilwell made their entrance. Albania still had a theoretical chance of qualifying for the World Cup, but was completely outclassed at Wembley. At halftime, the 5-0 final score had already been reached in London.
Hat trick Harry Kane??
England enjoy themselves at Wembley and lead 5-0 halfway through!!???????????
Now see if Albania can still provide the mother of all comebacks??
?? Ziggo Sport Racing#ZiggoSport #WCQ2022 #ITASUI pic.twitter.com/R2DvkDUInr
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Nov 12, 2021
Maguire opened the score after eight minutes with a header from a revolving free kick by James, after which Henderson with a cross from the right enabled Kane to nod from close range. At 3-0, the roles were reversed: Kane found Henderson, who cleared himself in the penalty area for an effective shot into the right corner. Kane made it 4-0 with a diagonal bet and provided the best goal of the evening in the closing phase of the first half, by producing a striking overhead kick from a corner from Phil Foden: 5-0.
In the second half England made little move to further increase the score. Southgate’s side controlled the game, without creating many great chances for a sixth goal. Albania only sporadically reported threatening in the English half. For the Eastern European country, the very first World Cup participation can thus be forgotten. Albania was still in the race with a victory over England, but the visitors at Wembley did not claim that for a single moment.