England 1 Slovenia 0: Harry Kane grabs late winner as Three Lions book World Cup spot at Russia 2018
Kane stabs in superb Kyle Walker cross in injury time to put gloss on drab display from Gareth Southgate's men at Wembley
THE fans at Wembley were so bored they tried to amuse themselves by making paper aeroplanes land on the pitch.
It was that type of night.
England are certain to be on a plane to Russia next summer, but this was a tedious clashed glossed by Harry Kane's close-range winner four minutes into injury time.
Kane has been outstanding for Spurs but, despite now employing a chef at home, was left to feed off scraps.
Marcus Rashford looked sharp in the first half and Raheem Sterling improved in the second period, but it was not exciting.
With 18 minutes left, the game’s first flashpoint saw John Stones raise his hands on Slovenian captain Bostjan Cesar who tumbled to the floor.
There were angry exchanges but Stones avoided a second yellow.
England’s first chance of the match came midway inside the first half and it was Jan Oblak who proved why he is one of the world’s top keepers.
The Atletico Madrid number one, who has twice earned the accolade as the best keeper in La Liga, got down low to his left to keep out a decent strike from Jordan Henderson.
Despite enjoying 71 per cent possession in the first half, England were ponderous going forward.
And bizarrely when they were awarded a free-kick in a good position – and with Kane and Rashford on the pitch – Kyle Walker was allowed to boot an effort wide of the post.
Just a few minutes before half-time, Kane got the ball into the net but Sterling had already been penalised of fouling a defender.
Rashford was one of the few England players showing any sort of spark and a quickly-taken free-kick forced Oblak to push the ball around the post but it was not going into the net.
We had to wait 17 minutes into what was a dull second half for another decent England attack.
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Sterling released Rashford but he tried to be too clipped, tried to chip the ball over Oblak although Rajko Rotman cleared.
Ale Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has suffered a poor start to the season with Liverpool, was replaced by Jesse Lingard.
Sterling then went close but his goal-bound effort was brilliantly blocked by Cesar.
The just as fans were streaming out of the exits, Kane showed his predatory instincts to convert Walker's right-wing cross from close range.
ENGLAND RATINGS
JOE HART: Needed to be alert and brave to halt early Slovenian attack but gave Southgate a major scare when he juggled a close-ranger header. 6
KYLE WALKER: Now firmly established as England first choice right-back but is still prone to the occasional lapse in concentration which leaves the team open to the counter-attack. 5
JOHN STONES: Booked for a poor first-half challenge after over-running the ball and could have had a second yellow when he shoved skipper Cesar to the ground. 6
GARY CAHILL: Relished the time he was given to play out from the back and was never seriously troubled by the Slovenian attack. Always a danger at set-pieces. 6
RYAN BERTRAND: With so much at stake for England, he played it safe at the back and didn’t get forward as much as he usually does to support the winger. 6
JORDAN HENDERSON: Will never win any Man of the Match awards but somebody has to shield this England defence and he does it as well as anyone. 6
ERIC DIER: Struggled to make much impact as the deep-lying midfielder and played too many square passes. No sense of urgency when he was in possession. 5
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN: Lucky to be in the starting line-up and was under huge pressure to deliver a performance. Worked hard but no end product. 5
RAHEEM STERLING: Playing with real confidence after his flying start to the season and won so many free-kicks with his trickery through the middle. 7 SUN STAR MAN
MARCUS RASHFORD: Ran at the Lithuanian defence right from the kick-off and almost caught them out with a clever free-kick just before half-time but let down by his final ball. 6
HARRY KANE: Fancies his chances of scoring every time he gets within 40 yards of goal but his shoot-on-sight policy couldn’t produce the breakthrough England needed. 6
SUBS:
JESSE LINGARD (for Oxlade-Chamberlain 64mins). If he is the best England can come up with to change a game, it’s no wonder we are struggling. 5
MICHAEL KEANE (for Sterling 85mins) Came on to protect the clean sheet. That's the height of England’s ambitions these days. 5
WHAT THEY SAID
GARETH SOUTHGATE: ";We played a team who have only conceded four goals in the competition and you could see why.
"We weren't as sharp as we'd have hoped to be, but we stuck at it and it's not a coincidence if you keep scoring late goals.
"We knew they had to win and were going to come onto us. We changed the formation at the end to try and exploit that."
"Joe Hart made big saves at important times so that's where his experience comes through.
"We know we have to be better but we're going to a World Cup and that's fantastic. I think this team has potential but we have a hell of a lot of work to do."
HARRY KANE: "We have qualified, and that's all that matters. We had to be patient and in the last 10 minutes they were getting tired.
"It's no easy feat these days (to qualify for a World Cup.) We're all delighted. We have another game on Sunday and we need to keep doing what we're doing and working hard."
