England thrash Albania in World Cup qualifier- almost there.

 England thrash Albania in World Cup qualifier- almost there

Within hours of losing its most important England player from yesteryear, England walked purposefully onto the Wembley pitch. We are now heading for the home straight and England's journey is still a straightforward one with no traffic jams, no complications, no tailbacks and little in the way of any anxiety. World Cup qualifiers are normally stress free, too simple for words and almost as logical as basic mathematics. England love World Cup qualifiers since the teams they are normally confronted with have brittle, delicate chins and are easy targets for a lethal, knock out punch.  

Last night England just overwhelmed an Albanian side who may have privately harboured hopes of some kind of a football miracle when suddenly they discovered that it was just a mirage, a desert without water and left Wembley gasping for air and dizzy with vertigo. Half way through last night England's demolition of Albania the match had ceased to become a contest and more of a five-a side training exercise. England have been going through the motions in most of their World Cup assignments and the sense of anti climax was almost laughable. 

Before last night's match, tributes were paid to the legendary defender Ron Flowers who had died at the age of 87. Flowers had admirably served the cause for his club for Wolves. He had also been an integral part of Sir Alf Ramsey's England squad in 1966. He may have been a fringe member of Sir Alf's class but was nonetheless highly regarded by the rest of the victorious World Cup winning side. 

It is hard to know what Flowers would have thought of his modern day successors John Stones and Harry Maguire but last night's display against a bunch of no hopers and punch drunk nonentities was not the criteria by which any international team should be measured. Stones and Maguire were rather like those mums and dads standing on wintry touchlines shouting encouragement at their young children. This was not so much a football match as a painful exposure of bleeding wounds. Albania looked like rabbits caught in the headlights, shocked, stunned, downtrodden, bewildered and wishing they hadn't bothered.

After some brief struggles against Hungary and Poland in recent matches, England looked completely untroubled, unflustered and ready to hit the ground running. By half time Albania were flat on their backs, lying on the canvas and out for the count. England were five goals to the good, coasting, cruising and any sea going analogy you care to mention. This must have been the worst kind of hellish purgatory any team could have endured but this was an England performance to warm the heart and uplift the soul. 

The demoralising Euro 2020 Final defeat by Italy may still be subconsciously on the minds but you would never have known it. England are inching inexorably closer to the Qatar World Cup Finals at roughly this time next year and it felt good. England though, under Gareth Southgate, bear the template of their manager; shrewd, measured, restrained and controlled. England are a side of art deco patterns and thrilling passing movements who wove their way in and out of the Albanian defence. England are no longer those heavy footed, labour intensive footballers who treat the ball as if it was a hot potato. 

On Monday they face yet another set of bowling skittles in the shape of San Marino. Of course England are haunted by Stuart Pearce's rush of blood in a match where San Marino scored after seven seconds. But the San Marino of today are an altogether different proposition. By all accounts they are there to be smashed to smithereens, a ragged collection of part time players who still can't figure out what to do with a ball when it's given to them. The fact is that England will qualify on Monday because a defeat is almost ludicrously unthinkable and besides how demanding can a game be against a side with no international pedigree and who rank hundreds of places below England. 

So it was that England began last night rather like commuters on a train who have to catch the last train on time and are simply in a hurry. They swept aside the challenge of Albania quite dismissively and clinically as if they just wanted to think ahead to a warm winter break in the desert. 

Once again the defensive back four of John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and the brilliant Reece James of Chelsea excelled themselves without ever breaking sweat. They held their lines magnificently and reminded you of deckchair attendants tidying away after a busy day at the seaside. Of course this was Albania and some of us could probably have beaten such pliant opposition with our eyes closed. It was game over before the match had properly started. 

In the midfield engine room Leeds United's busybody and industrious Kalvin Phillips roved and roamed around the central areas, supporting his back four with huge intelligence and passing of the most economical kind. Then there was the evergreen Jordan Henderson, Liverpool's calming and steadying influence, a player of mild mannered composure and equanimity, still prompting, looking for the right pass and making the game look remarkably easy even in his thirties now. Raheem Sterling, of course, has been a model of consistency, his sharp bursts of pace and close ball control  still a revelation. 

Both Sterling and Phil Foden, who are almost inseparable at Manchester City such is their dynamic effect on City, were once again at the heart of everything that was inventive for England. Foden does look like an England regular but even he must realise that he too has fierce competition for places in Gareth Southgate's firing England attack.

Then up front Harry Kane, England's lion hearted captain did what all England skippers should be under obligation to do. He led by example and scored the umpteenth England hat-trick of his career against Albania. If the new Spurs boss Antonio Conte can coax the very best out of Kane in the forthcoming months then Kane should also provide England with the kind of service we know he's capable of. Kane was here, there and everywhere, dropping deep elusively, shielding the ball at his feet and always instinctively aware of his colleagues. And yesterday evening he remembered how to score with a vengeance. 

And so for the goals. With barely 10 or 15 minutes on the clock. A Reece James free kick from way out was floated gorgeously into the Albanian penalty area and nobody had followed Harry Maguire,  the Manchester United jumping almost unchallenged to plant the ball into the net with the meatiest of headers. The goal bore an uncanny similarity to the one Maguire scored against Ukraine in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

England were now in complete command of both the ball and the game itself. There were none of the troubles that may have dragged them down in World Cup qualifiers of old. Graham Taylor never really forgave the referee for his lack of vision and alleged myopia against Holland in Rotterdam and sadly it did cost him his job. But England were both comfortable in possession and perceptive in their range of passing. Once again at close quarters England had all the right threads and stitches to disentangle the Albanians. 

Minutes later England increased what would now become an unassailable lead. Another glorious set of passing combinations began with Kane, before James cut inside incisively and fed Jordan Henderson. Henderson ran on to the one two before calmly striding to the edge of the box. Henderson's chipped cross to the far post found Kane who leapt bravely to nod the ball home for England's second. It was easy rather like the child who devours jar after jar of sweets without feeling guilty. 

When Raheem Sterling picked up a criminally loose ball for England in the middle of the pitch, we knew that we were sensing a rout. Sterling drove forward masterfully and after the cutest of reverse passes, found that man Harry Kane. Kane, who looks as though he might have found a goal scoring gold rush, hurried away from a now rapidly disintegrating Albanian defence and slammed the ball firmly into the back of the net from an acute angle. 

And just to add the icing to the proverbial cake England scored their almost inevitable fifth. Another in swinging corner arrowed its way to the far post. The heads went up, the ball came down from a posse of heads and Harry Kane, twisting his body almost acrobatically, executed his overhead bicycle kick with the utmost precision. England were now out of sight, the match as a spectacle had been over for ages and England find themselves within touching distance of Saudi Arabia at the end of next year. 

So it was that an 80,000 England crowd shuffled away into the late night darkness happy go lucky, buoyant and confident that nothing can stand in their way. There is a sense here that Gareth Southgate, the studious and conscientious England boss, may never wear those natty waistcoats again. The beard is still tidy and trim while the suit is a menswear's dream. You look immaculate Gareth. 

 The ever fashionable Southgate is never one to miss a trick but the former Crystal Palace defender may want to take a leaf out of Sir Alf Ramsey's book. Ramsey knew England would win the World Cup years before  the event. Maybe Southgate is thinking along the same lines. Oh what England would give for a crystal ball.