Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana teed up the second goal of the evening as England sealed a 2-0 victory over World Cup qualifier opponents Lithuania.
The Three Lions welcomed their European rivals to Wembley for a Sunday evening kickoff, looking to improve on their 1-0 friendly defeat to Germany four days previous.
Gareth Southgate made four changes to the side that lost at the Westfalenstadion in midweek, with John Stones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Raheem Sterling and Jermain Defoe coming in.
All eyes were on Defoe as he emerged from the tunnel at Wembley, accompanied by the inspiring Bradley Lowery, mascot for the evening.
Lallana took up his regular role in the England attack, joining Sterling and Dele Alli in support of the Sunderland striker, who took just 21 minutes to get his name on the scoresheet.
It was far from a classic as Lithuania looked to frustrate England throughout, but moments of individual quality shone through for the home side.
Liverpool’s sole player to start on Sunday evening broke in a rare promising attack on the hour mark, but was brought down cynically by Arturas Zulpa, in a move characteristic of the clash.
With Southgate introducing the pace of Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford soon after, however, England were able to grab their second.
It was the magic feet of Lallana that opened up the space for Vardy, bamboozling the Lithuania defence and slotting the ball in for the Leicester City striker to secure a 2-0 victory.
It has been a more disappointing international break for Nathaniel Clyne, however, with the right-back an unused substitute for both games.
Clyne has come under scrutiny for his Liverpool form in recent weeks, and it was no surprise to see Kyle Walker continue his stint as Southgate’s first choice, given his consistency so far.
But Clyne not turning out against either Germany in a friendly or 107th-ranked Lithuania in a home clash is a damning indictment of his role at present.
The 25-year-old Stockwell native is far from a poor all-rounder, however, and recent reports have suggested that right-back is the only position Jurgen Klopp is not looking to strengthen this summer.
However, with Trent Alexander-Arnold continuing his rise with two goals and an assist in two games for the England U19s this week, this serves as a salient reminder of Clyne’s position.
While Alexander-Arnold is still just 18, he could well threaten Clyne’s first-team place in the near future.
England are currently top of Group F, as they look to seal their place in Russia next year, with their next qualifier coming away to Scotland on June 10.
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