Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's crucial
World Cup qualifying match between England and
Slovakia at Wembley!
Just two points separate these two sides at the top of Group F as things stand, and with only one guaranteed place at next summer's World Cup on offer the winner tonight will be in a very strong position to book their place on the plane to Russia. England are in the driving seat at the moment and could move to the brink of qualification with another win here, but defeat leaves them playing catch-up with only two games remaining.
It promises to be a fateful night in Group F, but before we have a closer look at both sides let's first check out the team news...
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Hart; Walker, Cahill, Jones, Bertrand; Dier, Henderson; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alli, Rashford; Kane
ENGLAND SUBS: Smalling, Butland, Cresswell, Keane, Stones, Chalobah, Livermore, Sturridge, Welbeck, Vardy, Sterling, Heaton
SLOVAKIA STARTING XI: Dubravka; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Weiss, Nemec, Skriniar, Hubocan, Hamsik, Mak, Lobotka
What can we make of those two sides, then? Well, there aren't any great surprises when it comes to the hosts -
Gareth Southgate promised changes and he has delivered with two new faces coming into the side from the victory over Malta last time out.
One of those sees Eric Dier return from suspension in the heart of the midfielder, where he will partner captain Jordan Henderson. Southgate was criticised for playing two defensive midfielders against Malta - with Livermore alongside Henderson for that match - but they are much more likely to be needed tonight against what can be a dangerous Slovakian team.
The second change was also widely expected given the impact both players involved made on Friday, with
Marcus Rashford replacing Raheem Sterling in the starting lineup. It is the same change that Southgate made at half time of the win over Malta follow a pretty poor opening 45 minutes for Sterling, who squandered an early chance before fading out of the game. Rashford came on and was more dangerous, although he was unable to get on the scoresheet.
One player who did get on the scoresheet for the first time this season was Harry Kane, who opened and closed the scoring in Malta to take his England tally up to 10 goals in 20 games - not a bad ratio at international level by any stretch of the imagination. The Tottenham Hotspur striker is now just one goal short of Sir Stanley Matthews, John Barnes and Teddy Sheringham in the all-time England scorers list, so he already finds himself amongst some exalted company.
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Even more impressively, five of Kane's England goals have been scored in his last three international appearances, which is as many as he managed in his first 17 for his country. The Spurs man may have struggled to find the back of the net once again in August, but he is bang on form for England and will fancy his chances of getting on the scoresheet once again tonight.
At the other end of the spectrum, Ryan Bertrand scored his very first international goal during the win over Malta, with his long-range effort skidding past the keeper and prompting the late flurry of goals which made things look a lot more comfortable for England. The history books will show a Bertrand goal in a 4-0 win, but his strike was an important one to finally give England a cushion - even if they didn't really look like needing one.
The full-back starts again tonight in an unchanged back five for the Three Lions.
Joe Hart retains his place in goal, then, despite the ongoing competition for his number one jersey, while Cahill and Jones partner up once again in what is looking like Southgate's preferred centre-back pairing. Walker completes that back four, while in front of him the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alli will be hoping to stamp their authority on this match like they never really did against Malta.
As for Slovakia, they welcome the experienced centre-back partnership of Durica and Skrtel back from suspension, which will be a huge boost for them tonight. The pair have won 178 international caps between them for Slovakia, with former Liverpool centre-back Skrtel on 90 and Durica just two behind. The most experienced member of the squad is Napoli's Marek Hamsik, though, and he will be making his 99th international appearance this evening.
The returns of Skrtel and Durica are the only two changes manager
Jan Kozak has made from the narrow win over Slovenia on Friday, largely keeping faith with the side that ensured they would at least have the chance to move top of the group with a win tonight. Nemec will lead the line for the visitors, although Hamsik is arguably an even bigger goal threat and England will need to keep a close eye on both.
On paper, this looks like the trickiest home tie of the group for England, but they will still go into the match as favourites and if - as expected - they come away with another three points then they would be almost home and dry in terms of a place at next summer's World Cup. Gareth Southgate's side currently enjoy a two-point lead over Slovakia, and victory would lift them five clear with just two matches remaining.
Such a scenario would leave England needing just two points from their final two matches which, considering they come at home to Slovenia and away to Lithuania, seems all but guaranteed. However, they are not quite firing on all cylinders under Southgate and the prospect of defeat will be a worrying one for England. A top-two place is all but assured already, but England really should not be finishing in second place in this group.
The statistics suggest that there will be no such setback, though. England are now unbeaten in their last 18 World Cup qualifying matches, which is a run that stretches back to October 2009 when they lost to Ukraine away from home. England have had four different managers since then and they have won 12 of the intervening games. Even a draw would suffice tonight in terms of the group standings, and England have only lost one of their last 29 World Cup qualifiers.
When it comes to qualifiers of any kind it is a similar story for England - they are unbeaten in their last 36 now, again since that defeat at the hands of Ukraine. At Wembley their record is even more imperious too, and England actually come into this match on the back of 12 consecutive wins in competitive matches at their home ground - their best ever Wembley winning streak.
The last time they failed to pick up maximum points here was almost five years ago when they drew 1-1 with Ukraine in September 2012.
That run includes seven consecutive home wins in World Cup qualifiers, and you have to go back to the days of the old Wembley for their last home defeat on such a stage. Germany's 1-0 triumph in the old Wembley farewell in 2000 was the last time England lost a World Cup qualifier in front of their own fans, since when they have won 19 of their 21 such matches.
England's form of late has not been so impressive, though. The last six games have seen them win two, draw two and lose two, and there is a clear pattern emerging as to who those wins come against. Lithuania and Malta are the only sides England have beaten in that time, while their defeats have come against Germany and France - not a surprising pattern but one which does not bode well for England's chances of making an impact at next summer's World Cup.
England are tonight looking to record back-to-back wins for the first time under Gareth Southgate following their 4-0 triumph over Malta last time out, but they will likely have to play better than they did at the Ta'Qali National Stadium. England dominated possession in that match, but they struggled to break down a team ranked 177th in the world and only got the opening goal in the 53rd. They then had to wait until the 86th minute for the second, before two more late goals embroidered the result.
Slovakia will be fully aware that they travel to Wembley as the underdogs, but having seen England's performance against Malta they could feel that there is a chance to get at the hosts tonight and pull off a famous victory. England have not been particularly inspiring under Southgate so far and Slovakia know just how valuable a win could be tonight.
The Wembley record is certainly daunting, but Slovakia will fancy their chances more than many fo the teams who have visited since their last competitive defeat here.
Slovakia are bidding to reach just their second ever World Cup, and as things stand they are well placed to at least give themselves a shot via the playoffs.
Jan Kozak's side got off to a nightmare start with defeat at home to England following by an away loss at the hands of Slovenia, but they have bounced back since then and now sit closer to top of the group than they do the chasing pack. Defeat tonight could change all that, though, and plunge them back into a battle for the runners-up spot.
Scotland and Slovenia both currently sit four points behind Slovakia, but both will be expected to win their respective matches tonight. Scotland host Malta at Hampden Park while Slovenia are also at home to Lithuania, and should both of those teams win and Slovakia lose then the gap will go back to just one point heading into the final two games. Slovenia then face a difficult assignment away to England, but Scotland host Slovakia in what could well be a straight shootout for second place.
Those situations are all ifs and buts for now, though, and first Slovakia must try their best to avoid the chasing pack making too much ground tonight. Jan Kozak's side have won their last five qualifiers since that poor start of two defeats in a row, and they are now on their best ever run in World Cup qualifying. Friday's 1-0 triumph over Slovenia looks particularly important as it has given them that breathing space - which they may need tonight.
In all competitions Slovakia have won now their last three games, but despite that they haven't really been at their best in 2017 so far. They began the year in terrible fashion with defeat to Uganda before being thrashed by Sweden 6-0, and while they have won every game since, the performances haven't been quite as emphatic as many would have hoped for.
Only a late goal gave Slovakia and two-goal cushion in their 3-1 win over minnows Malta before they edged past Lithuania in a 2-1 win. Friday's match against Slovenia then looked to be heading for a goalless draw before an own goal nine minutes from time saw Slovakia claim all three points.
Slovakia have now won their last two away games following a run of three without either a win or a goal before that. A shock victory today would see them string together three in a row for the first time since November 2014, and it should also be noted that they beat Germany in Augsburg last year and so are not complete strangers to pulling off big victories on foreign soil.
Slovakia haven't won three away World Cup qualifiers in a row since October 2009, and incidentally the third win in that run was away to a home nation, beating Northern Ireland at Windsor Park. That was Slovakia's most recent win away to a home nation, though, so it has been a relatively long wait which they will be looking to end tonight.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Wembley, which means that it is time for a prediction!
This will be a tough game for England - they are not playing particularly well at the moment and have a lot more to lose than Slovakia tonight. However, they do always seem to get the job done at Wembley and I expect them to come out on top once again tonight. It will require an improvement from the hosts, but I'm going for a narrow victory.
England 2-1 Slovakia
This will be the sixth meeting between the two sides, and including tonight's game it is the third in the space of just over a year. The two sides met at the European Championships last summer when they played out a 0-0 draw despite England dominating the game, and they renewed acquaintances again just three months later in the reverse fixture.
That proved to be Sam Allardyce's first and last match in charge of England, and he needed a late Adam Lallana strike to win it exactly one year ago.
© SilverHub
Slovakia have now failed to score in their last three meetings with England, last finding the back of the net in a June 2003 clash with England won 2-1. Michael Owen got both goals for the Three Lions on that occasion, while Vladimir Janocko remains the last Slovakia player to score past England. Indeed, Slovakia have only ever scored two goals past England.
England have won four and lost none of the previous five meetings between these two sides, the most convincing of which came on Slovakia's most recent visit to Wembley in March 2009. It was a friendly on that occasion, and Fabio Capello's England swept Slovakia aside with a 4-0 victory. Emile Heskey for the hosts up and running early before Wayne Rooney netted a brace either side of a Frank Lampard strike in the final 20 minutes.
Right, the players are coming out of the tunnel and the anthems are nigh! Just a couple of minutes until kickoff now, so let's have a refresher of the team news tonight:
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Hart; Walker, Cahill, Jones, Bertrand; Dier, Henderson; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alli, Rashford; Kane
SLOVAKIA STARTING XI: Dubravka; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Weiss, Nemec, Skriniar, Hubocan, Hamsik, Mak, Lobotka
KICKOFF: Here we go then! Slovakia get us underway at Wembley!
GOAL! England 0-1 Slovakia (Stanislav Lobotka)
Wow, that wasn't in England's script! Slovakia take the lead inside three minutes to stun Wembley, although it stems from a mistake from Rashford.
The Manchester United man tries to dribble his way out from the back but is caught in a dangerous position and Slovakia punish him straight away. A chipped ball over the top finds Lobotka in the box, and he takes the ball down well before stroking it past Hart.
Lovely finish from the Slovakian, but that was very avoidable for England.
SAVE! Rashford looks to immediately tone for that mistake by dribbling in a safer position this time, working space for himself to shoot but only firing a tame effort into the arms of the keeper.
I am sure you don't need or want reminding, but that goal means that - as things stand - England will drop to second in Group F. There is still plenty of time for them to change that tonight, but it is a far from ideal start for the hosts.
Here is that opening goal from Slovakia - not one Rashford will want to see again. The youngster lost possession to Lobotka and then failed to track the goalscorer's run too.
Slovakia have started this match really well, it must be said.
The problem for England against Malta was that they struggled to find a way past the deep defence, with 11 players often behind the ball, but today it has been Slovakia who have taken the game to England so far. The opposition playing more should help England, but it has been a slow start from the hosts.
UPDATE: News of another goal elsewhere in Group F as Scotland have taken the lead against Malta through Christophe Berra. Gordon Strachan's side would move to within three points of England as things stand.
Elsewhere around Europe, Mesut Ozil has given Germany the lead against Norway, while Arkadiusz Milik has broken the deadlock for Poland against Kazakhstan.
Kane bursts into life for the first time tonight, rejecting the chance to slip the ball to Oxlade-Chamberlain in favour of going himself. He is tightly marked, though, and his eventual shot deflects behind for a corner.
UPDATE: Ominous signs for Norway in Stuttgart, where Germany have now taken a 2-0 lead through Julian Draxler.
SHOT! England have another shooting opportunity as Henderson slides the ball down the right channel for Rashford, who looks up and picks out Alli on the edge of the box. It is not the best pass, though, and Alli is under pressure by the time he drags his shot wide.
SHOT! Good play from Oxlade-Chamberlain has he shows pace and power to beat one man down the left flank and advance into the Slovakia half. Wembley rises with anticipation, but the Ox's resulting effort flies a long way off target. He did so well until the finish!
SAVE! Another effort on goal from the hosts, but once again it never looks like going in. Alli rose highest in the area to get his head to a cross, but his effort lacked the power to really trouble the keeper.
We're past the midway point in the first half now and so far it is Slovakia who will be much the happier of the two teams. They look sharp in possession and are not sitting back on this lead, whereas England are yet to really threaten despite having a few shots on goal.
Almost another chance for England as Alli again rises highest in the area and this time nods the ball down to Bertrand behind him. However, the ball strikes Bertrand's hand and a good opportunity goes begging.
England have kept Slovakia pinned back into their own half for the past few minutes with a string of crosses into the box, but nothing comes of any of them. Skrtel and Durica are more than capable of dealing with those!
UPDATE: More goals from elsewhere in Europe to update you on, including another from Group F where Slovenia have taken the lead against Lithuania.
Elsewhere, Germany have scored a third through Timo Werner, while Northern Ireland are ahead against Czech Republic through Jonny Evans.
A rendition of 'God Save the Queen' rings around Wembley, which isn't full incidentally. The Slovakian fans are still managing to make themselves heard, although all other noise may be drowned out by more boos from England fans if this stays the same until half time.
SHOT! Rashford looks desperate to make amends for his early error and he drives forward into a shooting position again here, but he drags it with his left foot well wide.
Here are a selections of stats regarding that Slovakia goal - it is a rarity for England to find themselves behind here, but they need to find a solution sooner rather than later...
GOAL! England 1-1 Slovakia (Eric Dier)
England have the equaliser as Dier sneaks unmarked to the near post before sweeping Rashford's corner in!
It is not the best corner from Rashford in truth, but Dier makes something out of it with a clever dart to the front post. He still has a lot to do from that position, but he manages to squeeze his clever shot just under the crossbar, leaving both the defender on the line and the goalkeeper no chance.
That goal has changed the atmosphere in Wembley. There was certainly an air of discontent while the hosts were trailing, but all seems a little bit better now. A draw would not be the worst result for England, but they will now be looking for all three points.
Here is that goal - Dier's third for his country.
SAVE! Bertrand seems to have the taste for goals now! The full-back gets forward again here and unleashes a powerful strike from the edge of the box which is too hot to handle for the goalkeeper. The ball pops back out towards Kane, but he can't steer a headed rebound on target.
SAVE! Dubravka needs to be alert here as Rashford tries to catch him out with a powerful strike towards the near bottom corner. There are a few bodies between him and the ball, but he manages to see it late and parry the shot away.
UPDATE: Northern Ireland's hopes of a top-two finish are looking very good now! Chris Brunt has doubled their lead against Czech Republic, while elsewhere Germany have moved 4-0 ahead against Norway courtesy of another Werner strike.
There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.
HALF TIME: England 1-1 Slovakia
Well, it's certainly more entertaining than the Malta match! England go into the break locked at 1-1 with Slovakia following another 45 minutes of football which will fail to inspire the masses. England got off to a nightmare start and have barely threatened other than their goal, which came out of nothing courtesy of a momentary lapse in concentration. Slovakia, by contrast, have looked sharp and will still be confident that they can come away from Wembley with all three points tonight.
It took less than three minutes for the visitors to break the deadlock, and it all stemmed from an England mistake as Rashford tried to play out from the back. The youngster was surrounded by three Slovakian players and sure enough got caught in possession, and the man who tackled him then went on to score the opener. To add insult to injury, Rashford failed to track Lobotka all the way into the box as the midfielder played a one-two before sweeping the ball past Joe Hart.
© Offside
England struggled to test Dubravka in the Slovakia goal for much of the half, with tame or inaccurate shots the order of the day before Dier levelled things up with just under 10 minutes to go until half time. Rashford went some way to making amends by providing the assist, although his corner was not the best and still left Dier with plenty to do. The Tottenham man still managed to flick the ball in at the near post, though, leaving both the man on the line and the goalkeeper no chance with a brilliant finish.
The Three Lions will undoubtedly need to improve in this second half if they are to come away with all three points. A draw would keep England top of the pile, but they shouldn't be in the position of settling for a point at home to Slovakia.
KICKOFF: England get us back underway for the second half at Wembley.
CHANCE! Better from England at the start of this match as Alli and Rashford combine brilliantly. Alli's effort from inside the box is blocked and drops to Henderson, but he snatches at his effort and scuffs it wide of the target.
England are looking a lot more positive in the early stages of this second half. Oxlade-Chamberlain has half a chance inside the box only to see his effort blocked, but it has been better from the hosts since the interval.
UPDATE: There has been another goal at Hampden Park, where Scotland have doubled their advantage against Malta through Leigh Griffiths. Scotland fans may now be in the uncomfortable position of wishing for an England goal in order to make more ground on Slovakia!
Away from Group F, Germany's rout continues as Leon Goretzka has made it 5-0 against Norway in Stuttgart.
SAVE! Another sight of goal for England as Oxlade-Chamberlain fires a bobbling volley into the arms of the keeper. It was good play from Alli to set it up, but the angle was against Oxlade-Chamberlain and it was a fairly routine save for Dubravka.
CHANCE! Having been on the back foot for the opening 10 minutes of this half, Slovakia almost regain their lead in some style. It is a lovely move to cut through England, and it almost gets a fitting finish as Nemec peels off his man at the back post to take Hamsik's cross down on his chest. He immediately unleashes a good volley too, but Hart stands up to it and makes a strong save.
CHANCE! The resulting corner sees Skrtel find space inside the box, but his stooping header ends up over the crossbar.
CHANCE! Chance for England at the other end now as Kane bundles his way past a couple of players inside the box before drilling a powerful low ball across the face of goal. Dubravka can only parry the ball out, but it comes at Alli too quickly for him to react and turn it home.
SHOT! Poor from Alli as he has two or three players in support and instead chooses to go for goal himself from a long way out. He has the ability to score from there, but this time he blazes it well over.
GOAL! England 2-1 Slovakia (Marcus Rashford)
England complete the turnaround, and Rashford completes his atonement!
Having been at fault for Slovakia's early opener, the Manchester United man now has a goal and an assist to his name, and it is a very good goal too. Rashford is afforded space around 25 yards from goal, and he doesn't need a second invitation to drill a dipping strike right into the bottom corner.
Here is that goal which, as things stand, is sending England to the brink of qualification for the World Cup in Russia.
SAVE! England have been a different beast in this second half. They are queuing up to have shots at goal now, and this time Alli sees a deflected strike bounce into the arms of the keeper.
CHANCE! Chance for Slovakia now as a free kick is only cleared as far as Hubocan. The full-back snatches his shot, though, firing the half-volley into the ground and seeing it bounce up and over the bar.
Whatever Gareth Southgate said at half time, it worked. England are a lot better both off the ball and on it now, and having barely looked like scoring at all in the first half they now look dangerous almost every time they come forward.
SLOVAKIA SUBS: Slovakia are the first to turn to the bench tonight as Nemec and Weiss make way to be replaced by Albert Rusnak and Michal Duris.
YELLOW CARD! The first card of the night is shown to Skriniar for a foul on Alli, which means that he will miss the game against Scotland next month.
SHOT! Rashford takes over at the resulting free kick, but his powerful effort flies a long way off target.
YELLOW CARD! Dier is the first England player in the book for a cynical trip in midfield.
Slovakia are beginning to see more of the ball again now, which England will not to disrupt with just 15 minutes of this match remaining. If they allow the visitors to build any momentum then it could be a nervy finale for Southgate's side.
England do exactly that, keeping the ball themselves now and make Slovakia chase. Good game management from the hosts.
SLOVAKIA SUB: A third and final change for the visitors sees Hamsik limp off on his 99th cap to be replaced by Ondrej Duda.
UPDATE: It looks like being three home wins in Group F tonight, as expected. Scotland are still two up against Malta, while Slovenia have now moved into a 3-0 lead against Lithuania.
Elsewhere, Kamil Glik has put Poland 2-0 up against Kazakhstan, Montenegro lead Romania and Germany are now six goals to the good against Norway.
ENGLAND SUB: England's first change of the night sees Raheem Sterling replace Oxlade-Chamberlain.
ENGLAND SUB: That is swiftly followed by a second England change as Danny Welbeck comes on for Welbeck.
SAVE! Sterling looks to make a quick impact by driving forward and getting a shot away, but his effort is straight into the arms of the keeper.
Slovakia are seeing the majority of the ball in these closing stages, but England seem happy enough to let them. The hosts are now just keeping their shape and making it difficult for Slovakia to get anywhere near shooting range.
England fans may not want to hear this stat right now, but half of the goals conceded under Southgate have come in the 87th minute or later...
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.
ENGLAND SUB: A final late change for England sees Alli replaced by Jake Livermore.
FULL TIME: England 2-1 Slovakia
The referee calls time on this game, and it is England who emerge victorious with a crucial win that takes them to the brink of World Cup qualification. It wasn't all plain-sailing for the hosts as they fell behind after less than three minutes, but they improved as the match wore on and Dier equalised in the 37th minute before Marcus Rashford got what proved to be the winner shortly before the hour mark.
It is not a result or a performance which will strike fear into the hearts of teams around the world, but it is another big step towards the tournament in Russia next summer.
Right, that's all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as England come from behind to beat Slovakia 2-1 and move five points clear at the top of Group F with only two games remaining. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
