England Top Group F Standings After 4-0 Win vs. Malta

Thanks to goals from Ryan Bertrand, Danny Welbeck and a double from Harry Kane, England cemented their position at the top of Group F in FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifying after a 4-0 win over Malta at Ta' Qali National Stadium on Friday.

After a tepid first half, Kane broke the deadlock after 53 minutes, firing home from inside the box following good work from Dele Alli.

However, the Three Lions had to wait until the last five minutes to make the game safe, with Bertrand firing home from range in the 86th minute before Welbeck and Kane scored in stoppage time to add further gloss to the scoreline.

England manager Gareth Southgate named a strong team for the visit to Group F's bottom side, who went into the contest without even a point after six games played.

The official England Twitter account provided a full list of the lineup as well as the Three Lions' substitutes:

England started the game well, though Raheem Sterling wasted a chance in the second minute before Kane was denied by a superb save from goalkeeper Andrew Hogg, who got down well to parry the Tottenham Hotspur striker's header.

Kane had yet to open his account for the new season, but BBC Sport's Dan Walker was impressed by the goalkeeper's reaction and was confident the drought would be over soon:

The visitors continued to dominate the game after that, but they found chances hard to come by against a hardworking and disciplined Malta side.

England did manage to put the ball in the back of the net midway through the first half, only to see the referee rule it out, via England's official Twitter account:

As the half wore on, England found it increasingly difficult to break down Malta, a team ranked 190th in the world, according to FIFA.

Alli was struggling to find any space, and it was not long before the visiting fans started to become frustrated with their team's performance, as Henry Winter of The Times noted:

Some of Southgate's choices also received criticism, with football writer Dale O'Donnell making his feelings clear:

The first half concluded with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain testing Hogg, but he was unable to beat the Malta goalkeeper. OptaJoe highlighted England's lack of threat in the first half:

Southgate opted to change things at the break, sending on Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford for the ineffective Sterling, a move O'Donnell welcomed:

Yet the first real chance of the second half fell to the visitors after Alli gave the ball away on the edge of his own box, allowing Andre Schembri a snapshot that flew just wide of England goalkeeper Joe Hart's post.

The chance seemed to wake England from their torpor, and within minutes, they were ahead, with Alli showing great footwork in the box before laying the ball off to Kane, who struck a low shot past Hogg.

OptaJoe highlighted just how vital Kane is to England's chances of success, particularly away from Wembley:

Kane then nearly added a second on the hour mark, with his powerful shot forcing Hogg into action once again, as he dived to his left to push the ball past the post.

That was as close as England came for some time, and their performance was doing little to impress the visiting supporters, according to the Evening Standard's James Olley:

Southgate opted to make his second change, bringing on Jamie Vardy for Alli. A pitch invader then briefly halted the game, giving the crowd something to cheer and becoming the highlight of the match, per Matt Law of The Telegraph:

England's final change of the night came on 76 minutes as Danny Welbeck replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain.

However, despite Southgate's attacking changes, a defender finally made the game safe, with Bertrand's goal sparking a late flurry.

Welbeck grabbed England's third in the 91st minute, and Rashford then found Kane in the 93rd.

With the final whistle came confirmation that the victory was England's biggest for two years, although it was a less than convincing display, per Law:

The result means England remain two points clear at the top of the group from Slovakia, whom they host at Wembley on Monday, but despite the convincing scoreline, it was yet another underwhelming performance from the Three Lions.