Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka grabbed a hat-trick as England demolished lowly North Macedonia 7-0 in their Euro qualifying fixture at Wembley Stadium on Monday night.
Harry Kane set the ball rolling for the Three Lions in the 29th minute, Saka added the second in the 38th minute and Marcus Rashford found the back of the net in the 45th minute for a comfortable 3-0 lead at the half-time break.
On resumption, Saka added the fourth but his second before he sealed off his hat-trick in the 51st minute. Kalvin Phillips then grabbed the sixth in the 64th minute and Kane rounded off the emphatic victory from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute.
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England manager Gareth Southgate admitted Saka was suffering from an injury before the game, saying: “He’s had it for a few weeks and it’s an injury that just needs managing, but it would have been easy not to appear.
“I think when you then have probably one of the best nights of your life, it’s a reminder to everybody that it’s worth going through those things. To see the joy on his face, he’s such a popular member of the team and so humble, works incredibly hard, and, of course, talented.”
England looks on track for next year’s finals after amassing a perfect 12 points, having also beaten Ukraine, who are second on six points from three matches, Italy and Malta.
The result continued England’s dominant run of Euro qualifying that stretches back to 2016. They have won their last 12 home qualifiers by an aggregate score of 47-4. England next play Ukraine on September 9.