Malta v England live updates: Commentary, highlights and analysis for World Cup qualifier

England are in Ta’ Qali, Malta as they close in on qualification for next summer’s Russian World Cup.

England top Group F after winning four of their six games so far and face Malta, who have lost all six of their matches.

Back in October Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli scored the goals in a 2-0 win at Wembley.

But the punters will be expecting a more convincing display tonight.

Malta 0-2 England LIVE: Updates as Gareth Southgate’s men close in on World Cup qualification

21.30: GOAL ENGLAND! Ryan Bertrand scored a wicked effort. The Southampton left-back fired in from 25 yards to seal the points for England tonight.

21.15: Jamie Vardy comes on for Dele Alli for the final 20 minutes. And Scotland have a THIRD in Lithuania!

21.10: England have offered little since the goal but will be pleased enough with their night’s work so far.

They lead and are moving clear of Slovakia, who are drawing with Slovenia at the moment.

Scotland still lead 2-0 in a great night for Gordon Strachan.

20.56: GOAL ENGLAND!!!

Harry Kane slots the ball in after some really neat work on the edge of the box from Tottenham team-mate Dele Alli. Alli twists on the edge of the box and slips it to Kane, who supplies the calm finish.

Finally England find the breakthrough after 55 minutes of dross.

20.50: Paul Ince on Marcus Rashford…

“I like Rashford on the left hand side because he’s got that nack of coming inside and whipping balls with his right foot. He scored a goal like that the other day and he’s fantastic at doing that. 

“But as an attacking player you’ve got to learn, and he will learn as he gets older, to play in all three of those positions. He is a talented kid but at the moment he is more of an impact player. He comes on when teams are tired and can hurt teams.”

20.45: Back underway in Malta and Marcus Rashford is on for Raheem Sterling to try and inject some life into this England display.

Here’s hoping…

20.33: Well that was deeply frustrating. England without any cutting edge, any dynamism, any spark.

It remains 0-0 at the break and the fans are getting on the players’ backs.

20.30: Nearly half time and it’s not been an easy watch. England struggle to string passes together. Malta sit in deep. The pitch is running slow.

The fans have taken to abusing the England players. Oh, international football, we’ve missed you.

20.17: Scotland go TWO up! Andy Robertson fires in a second. What a night.

20.10: Elsewhere in Group F Scotland have taken the lead against Lithuania through Stuart Armstrong.

20.05: England have had the ball in the net after Harry Kane nodded home but he was pulled up for a free kick first.

Malta are frustrating the visitors, but some better finishing would have found a breakthrough.

19.56: Dele Alli fires over from inside the six-yard box as England try to find their rhythm.

Lots of possesion but lots of Maltese men sitting very deep. This could be a long night…

19.50: Shaky start for England as Malta get TWO shots in. That’s more than they should be getting all night.

Raheem Sterling had a chance but dwelled on the ball too long and got tackled in the penalty area.

19.45: And we’re off. England v Malta. Friday night. The big one.

19.42: We’re ready to go for this one. The players are out. Anthems being sung. Just waiting to see how many England can score.

19.15: Matthew Dunn on the state of play ahead of kick off

As promised Hart retains his place but the captain’s armband is worn once again by Jordan Henderson, Gareth Southgate’s choice for every game he has started unless Wayne Rooney has been on the field.

With less than 30 minutes to kick-off, the stadium still looks mainly empty – it is a bit in the back of beyond, even for an island that is smaller than the Isle of Wight, so perhaps some of the England fans had underestimated the task in front of them when heading here.

You can guarantee Gareth Southgate’s side won’t do that – but have they the imagination to break down a resilient Malta defence in the way their supporters want them to?

19.00: So how have England done so far?

I’d say Gareth Southgate’s side have done ok without blowing anyone away.

Four wins from six and two draws has them in pole position and looking good for next summer.

And with all the fuss surrounding Sam Allardyce and Gareth Southgate’s appointment England will take a smooth pathway.

The draws with Slovenia and Scotland, both away from home, were definitely negatives but tonight should be a walkover.

The Slovakia game on Monday will be a bigger test and six points from these two will just about guarantee qualification ahead of the final two games.

18.50: Jordan Henderson was named captain for England’s World Cup qualifier at Malta’s Ta’ Qali National Stadium.

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has declined to name a permanent skipper since taking the job but chose the Liverpool midfielder ahead of Joe Hart, Gary Cahill and Harry Kane on this occasion.

Manchester United defender Phil Jones was rewarded for his strong start to the season with a first competitive start since October 2015, edging John Stones.

New Liverpool signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was selected in a forward role and Jake Livermore took the place of the suspended Eric Dier at the base of midfield.

18.45: Matthew Dunn checks in from Malta

Only one of the home nations is yet to score more than three goals in a World Cup 2018 qualifier – and it’s not Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. In fact, it is nearly two years since England put six past San Marino and since that time 29 European teams have got to four or beyond in competitive internationals. Well over half of the continent.

Is it too much to ask for some goals to get the nation going again, Gareth? Last night the England coach was in anything but ebullient mood.

“We’d like to create more clear cut chances,” he said a little prosaically. “We had more possession than our opponents in recent games but you’ve got to create chances and score goals. We’ve talked about that, the structure of the team, being a bit more positionally-disciplined in possession of the ball. More width.”

Inspiring stuff. Fingers crossed.

18.40: The England team is out and Phil Jones is back in.

Harry Kane leads the side up top and will be flanked by Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dele Alli.

Jake Livermore and Jordan Henderson will control the base of midfield with Ryan Bertrand and Kyle Walker at full back.

England team: Hart, Walker, Bertrand, Cahill, Jones; Henderson, Livermore, Alli; Sterling, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kane

18.15: England are in Malta tonight with Gareth Southgate hoping for a comfortable Friday evening.

England should win, and win well, to move clear of Slovakia who are second and face Slovenia at home tonight.

Joe Hart has been retained as number one goalkeeper and Jordan Henderson gets the chance to show he’s captain material.