​England have confirmed their place at Euro 2020 next summer after thrashing Montenegro 7-0 at Wembley.

Gareth Southgate’s side seized control of proceedings early on at Wembley thanks to an early goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and the Three Lions were soon out of sight after Harry Kane netted a quick fire hat-trick.

Marcus Rashford was also on the scoresheet during a frenetic first period, and the scoreline could have been more against a frankly woeful Montenegro defence.

Things improved for the visitors during the second half as England took their foot off the pedal and rung the changes; Southgate handing ​Leicester playmaker James Maddison his international debut, as well as introducing Chelsea’s leading scorer Tammy Abraham and Joe Gomez.

But the hosts did add to their hefty goal tally, firstly thanks to an own goal from Aleksandar Sofranac, before Abraham grabbed his first international goal, tapping home from close range after good work down the left hand side.

The manner of England’s win will help erase the memories of what has been a difficult week for Gareth Southgate’s side, after ​Raheem Sterling’s highly publicised spat with Joe Gomez. The Manchester City winger was not considered for this game as a result of that incident, but it didn’t matter on the night as England ran riot in a flawless performance. 

Ben Chilwell’s delivery was a particular highlight, earning the Leicester left-back three assists in the opening 24 minutes, as well as the performance of Oxlade-Chamberlain, who continues to impress after recovering from long-term injury.

Elsewhere in Group A, Czech Republic came from behind to beat Kosovo 2-1 at the Struncovy Sady Stadion, sealing second place in the process. They can’t overhaul England, however, with a clash against Kosovo on Sunday the final piece of the qualification jigsaw before Southgate takes his side to another major tournament.

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