Sunday, October 9, 2016

England 2-0 Malta highlights: Gareth Southgate claims first win

Daniel Sturridge celebrates after opening the scoring
Daniel Sturridge celebrates after opening the scoring

Gareth Southgate's first game in interim charge of England ended in victory as Malta were beaten 2-0 at Wembley on Saturday, and you can watch the highlights here.

Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli did the damage __with two goals inside nine first-half minutes as England enjoyed a second successive victory in World Cup qualifying and moved to the top of Group F.

The evening was as comfortable as Southgate might have expected against a side ranked 176th in the world, and the result, 11 days after Sam Allardyce left the England job, will come as a welcome relief after a turbulent period for the national team.

Southgate has taken over as caretaker England boss for four matches and made a big call by handing Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard his international debut in an attack that also featured Sturridge and the recalled Theo Walcott, __with Wayne Rooney playing in a midfield role.

The first part of Southgate's audition for the full-time job ended in a solid, if unspectacular, success - but he is likely face a sterner test of his credentials when England travel to Slovenia on Tuesday evening.

Watch the highlights of England's 2-0 World Cup Qualifying win over Malta in the video above