Montenegro 1-5 England: 5 Talking Points

#4 Declan Rice impresses as Barkley steals the show

Man of the match

The second debut featured today was Declan Rice who showed the world why the Three Lions courted him to switch allegiances from the Republic of Ireland.

The West Ham man, deployed in the centre of the 3-man midfield, held his fort and allowed Dele Alli and Ross Barkley to express themselves. The 20-year old was steady, mature, calm and composed in the midfield and broke up the play when needed.

It was the former Evertonian who stole the show despite some impressive performances from the other debut players. Ross Barkley started the day with an inch-perfect ball that saw Michael Keane equalizing for England.

The 25-year old then took centrestage as he precisely redirected Hudson-Odoi's shot into the net, scoring his first goal since 2015, and the second time the midfielder assisted and scored in the same match in his English career. A thumping finish in the 59th minute saw Ross Barkley scoring his second goal of the day before making his way for James Ward-Prowse in the 82nd minute, giving the Southampton man only his second appearance and the first since 2017.

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#5 England hit 5 for the second time running

A happy man after a great performance by the squad

The Three Lions scored 5 goals as England topped their Euro 2020 Qualifying group A, 4 points above second-placed Bulgaria.

The Three Lions score 5 or more goals in consecutive matches for the first time since 1984, when they defeated Finland and Turkey in the FIFA World Cup Qualification match. The win also saw Gareth Southgate winning 5 successive matches for the first time as England manager, and the first time where the Three Lions have won 5 in a row since Roy Hodgson did it in 2015.