England made it seven wins in a row and five from five in their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a 4-0 victory over Lithuania at Wembley this evening.
Captain Wayne Rooney got things up and running with his 47th international goal inside six minutes, and he could have equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's record mark of 49 before half time had he not been denied twice by the woodwork.
Danny Welbeck did get a second for the Three Lions right on the stroke of half time to make it six goals in five qualifying games, while Raheem Sterling notched his first international strike shortly before the hour.
The headlines were to be written by Harry Kane, however, as the striker came off the bench for his debut and scored within two minutes of his introduction to make it 4-0.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether England deserved to run out such comfortable winners.
Match statistics
ENGLAND
Shots: 20
On target: 9
Possession: 68%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 11
LITHUANIA
Shots: 3
On target: 0
Possession: 32%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 13
Was the result fair?
Absolutely. As the statistics above and the scoreline suggest, England completely dominated this match from start to finish. There was only ever one team in it and, while the hosts were always expected to run out fairly routine winners, it was even easier for them than most would have anticipated. Indeed, the four-goal winning margin is harsh on England if anything as they had numerous chances to extend their advantage even further, including twice hitting the woodwork.
They could have been ahead in the fourth minute when Rooney hit the post, but the skipper didn't have to wait much longer to break the deadlock and even from that early stage there didn't look to be much hope for the visitors. Lithuania did make one or two forays forward in the first half and, at 1-0, there was always a question mark hanging over England. However, the second goal just before half time killed off any Lithuanian hopes and then it was just a matter of how many England could get.
In the end, they managed four, but there was always the sense that they could get more if they had really gone for it. They managed to get in behind the defence on the majority of occasions when they injected a bit of pace into their attacks, while Lithuania offered nothing at the other end - as shown by their lack of a shot on target throughout. The visitors can have no complaints at being so roundly beaten here and may just be thankful that it wasn't even worse.
England's performance
The wounds of last summer's World Cup continue to heal, and tonight's win creates a small slice of history as England have now won seven consecutive matches at the start of a season for the first time ever. With the exception of Rooney reaching Charlton's record, it is hard to imagine how tonight could have gone any better for Roy Hodgson's side. His four attackers all got on the scoresheet, meaning that Welbeck is now the top scorer of the entire qualification campaign, while Sterling and Kane have their own accounts up and running.
Often these types of matches can end up being a damp squib as the lesser opposition pack men behind the ball and England struggle to find a way through. Lithuania did put plenty of bodies behind the ball, but the hosts played with pace and intensity that made it easier to break through. They moved the ball quickly and got in behind Lithuania almost at will, keeping the crowd interested, which is something that can't always be said for matches at Wembley in recent years.
They were just as impressive off the ball, hounding Lithuania high up the field and winning the ball back in good positions on numerous occasions. Most of the players involved did just as good a job as they do with their clubs on a weekly basis, which has been a major criticism of England for years now, and Hodgson will be encouraged that things are continuing to move in the right direction. Tougher opposition lies in wait, of course, but rarely in recent years have England put in a performance that will capture the imagination like this one. The only downside is that they didn't score more goals.
Lithuania's performance
Lithuania were never expected to get anything out of this game, but they would have wanted to give England more of a challenge than they managed. Having made a perfect start to the qualification campaign by winning their opening two matches, they have now lost three in a row and could see their hopes of reaching France 2016 slip away if that doesn't improve soon. Tonight would not have been a game Igoris Pankratjevas would have been expecting to help his side secure a surprise tournament berth, but the nature of the defeat would have been very disappointing.
The visitors understandably looked to get men behind the ball during the long spells in which England had possession, but they failed to actually stop the hosts from picking holes in their defence. England got in down the channels on numerous occasions and Lithuania simply could not cope with Hodgson's side for long spells of this match. Going forward, they threatened as little as the stats suggest, with no shots on target and only three overall.
They did force England into one or two defensive actions in the first half, but that is about as good as it got for the visitors. They came up against an England side in good form, but other teams have made things much more difficult for the Three Lions than Lithuania did tonight. The hosts probably wouldn't have been expecting quite such an easy ride, and in the end Lithuania are lucky to have only conceded four.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Danny Welbeck: Rooney and Sterling both deserve mentions here, but the award goes to Welbeck for the constant danger he posed on whatever wing he popped up on. It was his shot that provided the rebound for Rooney's opening goal, while his own strike just before half time kept up his fine scoring form at this level. His pace and direct running caused problems for Lithuania throughout, and they would have been happy to see him taken off in the 77th minute.
Biggest gaffe
The second goal will go down as a Welbeck one, but Lithuania captain Tadas Kijanskas got the last touch. He perhaps could have done better as Welbeck's header struck him and deflected past the keeper on its way in.
Referee performance
Pavel Kralovec had a solid game this evening, with no major decisions to make. There were one or two penalty shouts, but he made the right decision on each occasion and only had to produce his yellow card three times.
What next?
England: England travel to Turin next for their friendly against Italy on Tuesday evening.
Lithuania: Lithuania, meanwhile, are not in action again until June, when they face Switzerland in another qualifier.
Barney Corkhill
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