England power past Malta

Four first-half goals and a second-half penalty earned England a 5-0 victory against Malta in Burton which cemented their position at the top of Group 7.

Chuks Aneke fired England in front with a clinical right-foot shot after 20 minutes, and the mini-tournament hosts struck the woodwork through Benik Afobe and Josh McEachran before Will Keane exchanged passes with McEachran on the half-hour and beat Carlos Dimench at the far post.

Arsenal FC youngster Aneke added his second on 36 minutes while the advantage was increased further when Afobe scored the pick of the night's goals soon after. England won a penalty when the industrious Rob Hall was felled in the 65th minute, although Aneke could only hit the post with his spot-kick.

Seven minutes later England won another penalty and this time substitute Harry Kane picked himself up after being fouled and made no mistake. England manager John Peacock told UEFA.com: "I am delighted with the way the match went and the most important thing is we won.

"Scoring five goals was a bonus which sets us up nicely for the final match against Slovakia. Malta deserve a lot of credit for the spirit they showed and the way they played in the second half. When you are four goals down at half-time, it's easy to let your heads drop, but they didn't and deserve all the credit for it."

On Thursday England take on Slovakia knowing a point would book their place in the finals for the sixth time in Peacock's eight years in charge, while Malta end their campaign against Sweden. If Sweden beat Malta, England can afford a three-goal defeat.