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It was an England win that guaranteed top place in the group but if one moment summed up their uncoordinated night at Wembley it was the body slam by Trent Alexander-Arnold on Marcus Rashford just before the hour mark. As a piece of sporting theatre it was more WWF than the beautiful game.<\/p>\n
Alexander-Arnold, haring after a ball he had miscontrolled, clattered full steam into Rashford who, after lengthy treatment, went off immediately afterwards, looking thoroughly sorry for himself.<\/p>\n
That was England too often last night – in the wrong place at the wrong time.<\/p>\n
For Alexander-Arnold, trying – too hard maybe – to push his case for a more permanent starting role in the England midfield it was a frustrating evening.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t England\u2019s worst player – not by a long way – he provided two of England\u2019s measly three shots on target but he could not put his stamp on the match against the Maltese minnows.<\/p>\n
Alexander-Arnold\u2019s problem in the first half was that he was operating in a midfield which was visibly disjointed.<\/p>\n
The unfamiliarity of a trio that also featured Jordan Henderson and Conor Gallagher was all too obvious leaving England a creative void.<\/p>\n
Hooker Gallagher, who had reported into camp at the start of the week with a minor injury, improved things somewhat with Phil Foden pulled back into the midfield. Introducing Declan Rice later brought more cohesion<\/p>\n
But still England looked like strangers at times.<\/p>\n
This was a frustration both for the 81,000 at Wembley and for Alexander-Arnold.<\/p>\n
Not even an inviting free-kick opportunity went his way, as the Liverpool star curled his shot over the bar.<\/p>\n
He started well with a defence-splitting pass to Marcus Rashford but then found himself on the wrong end of some rough stuff from the Maltese.<\/p>\n
He was fouled three times in the first ten minutes including one tackle from Kemar Reid that upended him and left him needing running repairs just after England had taken the lead.<\/p>\n
There were other glimpses of what he could offer including a trademark crossfield ball to Harry Kane but when the ball did fall his way six minutes before the break he put England\u2019s meaningful only shot of the half well over the bar.<\/p>\n