England striker Jermain Defoe made a scoring return to the international stage and substitute Jamie Vardy added a second goal as the hosts laboured to a 2-0 victory over Lithuania in World Cup qualifying Group F on Sunday.
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Veteran Defoe, making his first appearance for nearly 3-1/2 years, fired lacklustre England ahead in the 21st minute at Wembley but Gareth Southgate's team struggled to finish off a Lithuania side who are 93 places lower in the FIFA rankings.
England survived a couple of worrying moments and had to wait until the 66th minute to double their lead when Defoe's replacement Vardy finished neatly shortly after coming on.
Relive England's routine victory below...
Which players impressed at Wembley? Show all 13 1 /13England vs Lithuania player ratings England vs Lithuania player ratings Joe Hart - 5 out of 10 Had absolutely nothing to do in the first-half, and yet still very nearly managed to fluff his lines. Haring off his line to punch a long pass clear, he was beaten to the ball by Nerijus Valskis and was relieved to see John Stones booting his header off the line.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Kyle Walker – 6 out of 10 Given license to press forward at every opportunity, Walker had a mixed first-half before growing into the game later on. He helped set up England's second goal with a good burst forward and almost set up Dele Alli for a third moments later.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings John Stones – 7 out of 10 Has been increasingly impressive for Manchester City in recent weeks and continued his good form at Wembley. Like Keane he had very little work to do defensively but he was superb bringing the ball forward and starting England’s attacks. Incredibly, he barely misplaced a pass during the entire match.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Michael Keane - 6 out of 10 Had remarkably little to do in defence after a solid debut away to Germany on Wednesday night. Hit several inch-perfect diagonal passes. Looks like he belongs at this level.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Ryan Bertrand - 6 out of 10 Stationed so far forward that he often looked as if he was playing as a left-winger in a 4-3-3 system. Saw a lot of the ball in the first-half but occasionally wasteful in possession, and his final ball was often lacking. Unlikely to replace Danny Rose in Southgate’s staring XI when the Tottenham defender returns.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Eric Dier – 7 out of 10 Another assured display from England’s utility man. Showed great tactical awareness to regularly flit between a role in England’s defence and their midfield, and dealt confidently with Lithuania’s aerial threat. Very tidy with the ball at his feet.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6 out of 10 An industrious performance, albeit not groundbreaking in any way. When Southgate named his starting XI it was assumed Oxlade-Chamberlain would be deployed out wide but instead he sat in central midfield alongside Eric Dier. Saw a well-struck long-shot nicely saved in the second-half.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Adam Lallana – 8 out of 10 Comfortably England’s best player. Ran confidently between the lines to draw out Lithuania’s deep defence and hit a number of impressive in-swinging crosses into the box to test their goalkeeper. Set up England’s second with a sublime flick into the path of Jamie Vardy.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Dele Alli – 6 out of 10 After an impressive display against Germany earlier in the week, Alli struggled to make much of an impression at Wembley. Was on the receiving end of some very rough treatment from Lithuania’s defenders and generally took a backseat as Sterling and Lallana impressed.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Raheem Sterling – 7 out of 10 Made a very bright start before fading in the second-half, where he was quickly replaced by Marcus Rashford. Created England’s goal by beating his man and hitting a superb low pass across the face of goal for Defoe to finish.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Jermain Defoe – 7 out of 10 Southgate took a gamble when he handed Defoe his first England call-up since 2013. Twenty minutes into this match and his decision was validated. Smashed home from close-range with confidence for his 20th international goal, and looked lively throughout.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Jamie Vardy - 6 out of 10 Replaced Jermain Defoe with half an hour left to play and did very well, linking up nicely with Alli and calmly finishing when played through by Lallana for England's second.
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England vs Lithuania player ratings Marcus Rashford - 7 out of 10 Did exactly what you expect from a thirty minute Marcus Rashford cameo. Terrorised his marker, repeatedly cut inside and was desperately unlucky not to score, or assist a goal.
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England's next four fixtures... vs Scotland (A). June 10. World Cup qualifier.
Show latest update 1490536800
What time is kick-off? The match will kick off at 5.00pm.
Mark Critchley 26 March 2017 15:00
1490540400 Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of England vs Lithuania from Wembley.
Follow all the build-up, action and reaction as Gareth Southgate's Three Lions look to take another step closer to World Cup qualification.
The game kicks off at 5pm but you call keep up to date with all the build-up right here.
Jack Austin 26 March 2017 16:00
1490540460
Team news England: Hart, Walker, Keane, Stones, Bertrand, Dier, Alli, Lallana, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sterling, Defoe.
Subs: Forster, Heaton, Clyne, Shaw, Gibson, Livermore, Ward-Prowse, Barkley, Vardy, Rashford, Lingard, Redmond.
Lithuania: Setkus, Klimavicius, Slavickas, Kijanskas, Vaitkunas, Zulpa, Novikovas, Slivka, Kuklys, Valskis, Cernych.
Subs: Zubas, Gertmonas, Mikuckis, Grigaravicius, Verbickas, Matulevicius, Verbickas, Matulevicius, Paulius, Klimavicius, Eliosius, Borovskij, Luksa, Baravykas.
Mark Critchley 26 March 2017 16:01
1490541000 England's support ended up making more headlines than the team on Wednesday.
Gareth Southgate doesn't want a repeat of that today...
Mark Critchley 26 March 2017 16:10
1490541600 Did we get a glimpse of a bright future for England the other night?
Their no 10 certainly impressed.
Mark Critchley 26 March 2017 16:20
1490541978 Are England good enough to challenge at next year's World Cup?
Mark Critchley 26 March 2017 16:26
1490542200 Lukas Podolski destroyed England on the pitch in Dortmund, then he destroyed them off it.
Mark Critchley 26 March 2017 16:30
1490542306 Mark Critchley 26 March 2017 16:31
1490542413 Southgate names an attacking line-up
So, as expected, Gareth Southgate has abandoned the three-man defence that impressed against Germany, reverting to a very Manchester City-esque 4-1-4-1 formation, with Eric Dier stationed just in front of Michael Keane and John Stones.
Raheem Sterling returns to the starting line-up while Dele Alli and Adam Lallana are retained, so expect to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain start out wide, as England look to put an early goal past their defensive opponents.
Vithushan Ehantharajah 26 March 2017 16:33
1490542800 Southgate takes a much more flexible attitude to captaincy than his predecessors.
Joe Hart thinks that's a good thing.
Mark Critchley 26 March 2017 16:40
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