England beat Kosovo but only after shock to their system.

England beat Kosovo but only after shock to the system.

Now that was a game of football. Rarely has international football offered us something quite like this. It had to be the craziest, zaniest, most unfathomable game in the recent history of the England football team. By the end of it all, England must have been so shell shocked by the unfolding events around them that to any student of the game, it was a game that defied logical explanation. At specific points during England's 5-3 Euro 2020 qualifier victory against Kosovo you could have been forgiven for thinking that you were watching a game that bore an uncanny resemblance to basketball.

By the end of a truly astonishing first half, England probably didn't know whether to laugh or cry. For the huge contingent of noisy, but good natured Kosovo supporters at Southampton's St Mary's this must have come as something of a major shock. Little did these newcomers to international football know that they were indeed in for a big surprise. After 33 seconds Kosovo were a goal up against last year's World Cup semi finalists England and some of us were just rubbing our eyes, convinced that this was an illusion rather than reality.

But the truth is that Kosovo were leading and England must have thought they'd stepped onto the wrong film set. This was not supposed to happen, a mirage perhaps or a trick of the eye. The fact is though that after England's soporific stroll against Bulgaria on Saturday evening, Kosovo were very much the ultimate challenge, a neat and technically brilliant team with the ability to keep England on their toes and then frighten the life out of them with their well embroidered build up play and excellent attacking football.

The tragedy of Kosovo's war ravaged history and the countless lives lost in that dreadfully dark period in the country's brief existence, all served to highlight Kosovo's admirable strength of character and wonderful capacity for recovery. This though was not quite how they'd planned in their wildest dreams. They may have liked to begin as they did against England but could never have legislated for what happened from the kick off.

After a horrendous defensive mix up between Ross Barkley and Michael Kane, Valon Berisha nicked the ball off both men gratefully, ghosting through to slide home a goal that Kosovo could only have imagined. Now England were almost shaken rudely out of their stunned stupor. If international football has taught England anything it is that you should never take any team for granted. For several moments in last night's eight goal thriller England were stumbling around St Mary's like men frantically looking for the light switch in an attic.

In no time though, England were back level and the goal came somehow inevitably from a player rapidly developing lethal goal scoring instincts. A corner was swung menacingly into the Kosovo six yard box, Michael Keane rose like the proverbial salmon to head on and Raheem Sterling, the Manchester City predator, jumped the highest to nod home England's equaliser from close range.

Then Harry Kane reciprocated the compliment for his England colleague Sterling when the Manchester City flier gracefully waltzed through a static Kosovo defence. Spotting Kane scurrying past him, Sterling laid on the perfectly weighted pass inside Kane and the Spurs striker just drove the ball firmly wide of the Kosovo keeper and into the net for England's second.

Now after another disastrous piece of comical defending, Kosovo were the instigators of their own downfall. Carelessly giving away possession in the most open area of their defence, Harry Kane eventually wriggled his way stealthily to the by line and his low cut back forced Kosovo's Mergin Vojvoda into tapping the ball into his own goal. 3-1 and the game now seemed irreparably out of the visitors reach.

By now Kosovo were completely star struck. When Harry Kane and company broke away powerfully up the pitch like a marauding platoon of well drilled soldiers, the visitors could only look in horror. Kane and Sterling were once again the central figures in the piece, laying the ball precisely into the path of Jadon Sancho who, floating into space, slotted the ball comfortably into the net for England's fourth. It was breakaway football at its finest and purest.

Shortly before half time Kosovo looked down and out, well beaten and ready to surrender. In another masterful display of counter punching, Kosovo's defence was smashed open, blown apart and made to look very feeble. Eventually Sancho latched onto another simple pass from Sterling and the Borussia Dortmund youngster just couldn't miss, drilling the ball home for England's fifth.

When the party looked to be all over for our friends from Kosovo, the second half brought them,much to their own surprise, a second wind and sustenance, almost another lifeline. They sprang to life when for all the world it seemed there was no conceivable way back into the game for them. When Berisha found the net again for Kosovo, beautifully trapping and controlling a long, high diagonal pass and steering the ball past England keeper Jordan Pickford, England were startled once again. Within minutes Kosovo had pulled another goal back when Vedat Morishi clipped home a confident penalty after Harry Maguire had so recklessly brought down a red Kosovan man.

From this point onwards England retreated into their shell and for a while found themselves on the receiving end of some elegantly constructed football from Kosovo. They were beginning to shift the ball cunningly in and out of the English defence with laser like accuracy. Briefly an air of panic gripped England, their football becoming both shoddy and tattered looking.

Thankfully the last 25 minutes saw England re- fuelling and gathering together their forces as if nothing untoward had happened. For what felt like an interminable period of time, England started flicking passes between themselves as if privately fearing that their opponents would once again break open the English defensive safe. Remarkably, England held Kosovo at bay and the home team had survived but only just.

And so it was that England now find themselves within touching distance of a place at next year's European Championships. Judged solely on the evidence of last night's performance Gareth Southgate's men may have to go back to the drawing board. Admittedly victory was achieved but not without one or two fluttering hearts and nerve racking palpitations. If the likes of Germany, Spain or more importantly world champions France get their hands on England it could make for deeply unpleasant watching.

As the relieved England fans went home happy deep into the Southampton night you were tempted to think that England are still no saints. Still if Gareth Southgate finds the right set of waistcoats and Sterling cashes in on the right kind of service then we'll all be able to sleep easy next summer. Harry Kane, although missing a penalty, is still the exemplary citizen. Oh, for this land that is forever England.