Cole Palmer on his first England call-up
England have already qualified for Euro 2024 but there are still a couple of qualifying fixtures to play before the campaign concludes. The Three Lions face Malta this evening and North Macedonia on Monday as they bid to finish top of Group C and receive a high seeding at next summer’s tournament in Germany.
Gareth Southgate will hope to use these fixtures to bed in some of the fringe players in his squad with the likes of Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa and Cole Palmer set for some gametime.
All three could feature against Malta who are bottom of the group and without a point with just this one match left to play. They lost the reverse fixture 4-0 back in June and have a more task to take any points off England at Wembley. If Southgate does start some of the lesser experienced members of the squad, Malta will believe they have a chance of challenging the Three Lions though this encounter should be a relatively simple outing for the national side.
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HT England 1-0 Malta
England had just two shots in the first half against Malta, neither of which were on target.
It’s the first time England have failed to record a single shot on target in the first half of a home international since November 2017 in a friendly against Germany.
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:42
HT England 1-0 Malta
(PA)
(The FA via Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:38
Half-time! England 1-0 Malta
45+1 mins: The first 45 minutes comes to an end. England have the lead but it’s been far from a positive display for Gareth Southgate’s side.
They seem disjointed and lacking in energy. When they play the ball quickly, they’re dangerous but Malta have hung in there brilliantly and only an own goal separates the teams.
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:34
England 1-0 Malta
42 mins: Harry Kane brings down an aerial ball and swiftly rolls it out wide for Marcus Rashford. Rashford takes on Joseph Mbong who manages to get the ball and prod it out for a corner.
Phil Foden swings the ball into the middle where a bunch of argy bargy forces the referee to blow his whistle and award a free kick to Malta.
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:29
England 1-0 Malta
39 mins: Conor Gallagher nips around Matthew Guillaumier and looks to sprint up the pitch. The Maltese midfielder tries to recover and clips Gallagher’s heels bringing him down and earning himself a yellow card.
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:26
England 1-0 Malta
36 mins: England have lacked a cutting edge in the final third. Foden and Alexander-Arnold are working hard to feed the ball into small pockets and get it up to the edge of the box but there’s been little in the way of real chances at goal.
Rashford is taken out on the left edge of the area but doesn’t win a free kick. The ball goes out for a corner though and gets whipped straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:24
England 1-0 Malta
33 mins: Harry Kane protested the card and Gareth Southgate looked perplexed but VAR didn’t intervene to change the decision either. A strange incident to ponder in the half-time break.
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:20
England 1-0 Malta
30 mins: Drama! Malta recover the ball but Phil Foden presses high. It comes back to goalkeeper Henry Bonello whose shot pass is intercepted by Harry Kane.
Kane checks to the right of the goalkeeper who throws himself at the England captain. The keeper brings Kane down by the legs after the ball is gone and there should be a penalty awarded.
Instead the referee the pulls out a card and books Kane for diving. Incredible scenes.
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:17
England 1-0 Malta
28 mins: Teddy Teuma whips the free kick towards the far bottom corner but Harry Kane is there to nod the ball wide of goal. Jordan Pickford then deals with the resultant corner and England sweep forward.
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:15
England 1-0 Malta
27 mins: In the end it’s actually Kieran Trippier who swings in the set piece with Harry Maguire the target in the middle. Malta clear the danger and work the ball nicely up the other end of the pitch.
Tomori is involved in another testing challenge. This time it’s the England defender who lunges in and he’s booked for the tackle on Yannick Yankam.
Malta win a free kick over to the right side of the box. Big chance this…
Mike Jones17 November 2023 20:14
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
