England 7-0 Montenegro: Kane gets hat-trick as England reach finals

Harry Kane scored a first-half hat-trick as England cruised past Montenegro to book their place at UEFA EURO 2020.

Ben Chilwell set up the first three goals for Gareth Southgate’s side, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain breaking the deadlock before two Kane headers, with Marcus Rashford firing in number four and Kane completing his treble to make it 5-0 at the break.

The hosts, who had named their youngest starting line-up since 1959, eased off after the interval but still added two more – an Aleksandar Šofranac own goal and a first international strike for Tammy Abraham.

AS IT HAPPENED

State of play

• England have qualified for UEFA EURO 2020 as Group A winners.

• Montenegro can no longer qualify via European Qualifiers group stage.

Reaction

Gareth Southgate, England manager: “We've got incredible speed and athleticism and, really, we had five goalscorers on the field from the start plus defenders who can use the ball really well. But [we showed] the hunger to press and win the ball back quickly as well. We didn't give Montenegro any time to settle at all.

“In the past we have maybe struggled against lower ranked teams who defend in numbers but we have players who can open those teams up and a style of play that can do that. We have qualified top and done it clinically.”

Harry Kane, England forward: “We’ve got so many great players. We’ve got a lot of young exciting players, a lot of competition for places and we’re moving the ball quick, finding space, making runs forward, getting balls in the box, scoring from set plays again as well. We’re going to need all of that if we want to have a good run next summer. We just have to keep improving and keep enjoying it.”

Reporter's view

A biggest home win since 1987 isn’t a bad way to conclude the business of qualifying for a EURO, where England will enjoy home advantage in the group stage. As showed again here, Southgate has a team full of goals and they are now up to 33 in this Group A campaign with one game to go.
Simon Hart

Key stats

• Harry Kane is the first player to score a hat-trick in consecutive appearances for England at Wembley Stadium.
• Ben Chilwell is the first England defender to provide three assists in a single match since Glen Johnson against Andorra in June 2009.
• Harry Kane is now England’s sixth highest goalscorer with 31 goals. Tonight, he moved above Vivian Woodward and Frank Lampard (both 29), Nat Lofthouse, Alan Shearer and Tom Finney (all 30).
• England have scored seven goals in a home match for the first time since October 1987 (8-0 v Turkey).
• England have scored 34 goals (nine games) in a single calendar year for the first time since 1982, when they scored 34 in 15 matches.

England celebrate their fourth goal at WembleyGetty Images

• This is the earliest England have scored five goals in a game since November 1946, when they struck five in the opening 35 minutes of a friendly against the Netherlands.
• Montenegro have only won three of their last 21 games, losing 11.
• Montenegro have only scored 14 goals in their last 19 matches, and none in their last four games.

Starting line-ups

England: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Stones, Chilwell; Winks, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Maddison 56), Mount (Gomez 70); Sancho, Kane (Abraham 57), Rashford

Montenegro: Petković; Vešović, Simić, Šofranac, Radunović (Raspopović 46); Hočko, Lagator, Vukčević; Jovović (Janković 65), Hakšabanović (Boljević 74), Bećiraj