The Three Lions are currently two points clear at the summit of the standings after winning four and drawing two of their six World Cup qualification fixtures up to now. There is still plenty of work to do before Gareth Southgate and his players can start looking forward to Russia, but England are clearly heavy favourites to finish the campaign in first place and advance automatically to next summer’s tournament.
It has been a solid, if not spectacular, response to the debacle that was Euro 2016 – when England were unceremoniously dumped out by Iceland in the round of 16 after stumbling through the first stage – with Southgate now beginning to get his own ideas across as he approaches a year in charge of the senior side following Sam Allardyce’s shock exit last September. Whether or not the one-time world champions are strong enough to actually win the competition next July remains to be seen, but they have at least avoided any further embarrassment in a favourable group with Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Scotland and their upcoming opponents.
Even in their wildest dreams, the Maltese public would not have been envisaging their country qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia – something which is no longer mathematically possible. They will be desperate to avoid losing all 10 of their games, though, and will be relishing the chance to test themselves against relative giants such as England. The Falcons picked up three points in qualifying for the last World Cup and two in their improbable bid to reach an expanded European Championship last year, but their six outings so far have all ended in defeat. Avoiding a seventh successive setback is extremely unlikely this weekend, but England must guard against complacency despite their indisputable superiority.
All-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney has now hung up his international boots and will therefore not be involved at the Ta'Qali National Stadium. Harry Kane is likely to lead the line in the Everton man’s absence, with Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford all fighting to be part of the support cast. In midfield, Jordan Henderson will probably be partnered by Eric Dier, with Gary Cahill, Phil Jones, Michael Keane, John Stones and Chris Smalling all options in the heart of the defence. Between the sticks, meanwhile, long-time No.1 Joe Hart is now facing increased competition from Jack Butland and Tom Heaton but should keep his place.
The vast majority of Malta’s squad play their domestic football at home, with the exception of Arezzo defender Zach Muscat, Chiasso forward Jean Paul Farrugia, Ebbsfleet United’s Sam Magri, Luton Town midfielder Luke Gambin and Apollon Limassol striker and national team captain Andre Schembri. The focus for the Maltese will be on sitting deep, ceding possession and packing men behind the ball, with their attacks likely to be severely limited by Southgate’s charges. A remarkable recent 1-0 friendly defeat of Ukraine in Kiev will give hope to manager Pietro Ghedin and his players, but in reality this will be an incredibly tough evening for the hosts.
The odds are stacked overwhelmingly against Malta in this one, which means there is virtually no value in simply backing England to win. Instead, consider a 4-0 victory for the visitors in the correct scoreline market, or perhaps choose between either Alli or Rashford for first goalscorer. Such a result would put the Three Lions in a commanding position in World Cup qualification, with Slovakia set to visit Wembley on Monday.
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