England were as professional as they were relentless as they put FIFA’s 210th and lowest-ranked nation ruthlessly to the sword to send the records tumbling in the microstate.
Fresh from scoring a first-half hat-trick against Albania, Kane repeated the feat inside 39 minutes at Olimpico di Serravalle and became the first England player since Ian Wright in 1993 to score four goals in a single game as he took his international goals tally to 48 – level with Gary Lineker in the all-time scoring charts.
Harry Maguire headed the opening goal for the second successive game before England ran riot in the second half. Emile Smith Rowe and Tyrone Mings opened their international accounts and Bukayo Saka and Tammy Abraham joined them on the congested scoresheet as the Three Lions hit double figures in a competitive match for the first time.
The victory completes an unbeaten run that assured World Cup Qualification campaign for England, who finish top of Group I, six points clear of second-place Poland, and can set their sights on Qatar 2022 – their seventh-successive World Cup finals appearance, where Gareth Southgate will hope to build on an encouraging 2021 by securing the biggest prize of all.
Ada Peter
