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As it happenedended1507236704

England vs Slovenia - as it happened: Late Harry Kane winner secures World Cup qualification for Three Lions

Re-live all the thrilling action from Wembley

Liam Corless
Thursday 05 October 2017 15:05 BST
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England can qualify for the World Cup with a win tonight
England can qualify for the World Cup with a win tonight

​Gareth Southgate’s brave boys are back in action on Thursday evening. England can qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia with victory, but standing in their way will be a determined Slovenia side still in with a shot of the play-offs.

The big talking point surrounding the Three Lions this week surrounds the captaincy.

Yes, despite Southgate’s best efforts to make it a non-issue by rotating it, the fact he is rotating it has now become an issue in itself.

The man tasked with shouting “tails” at the referee this week will be Harry Kane, a man who will be hoping to continue the scorching form which saw him score 13 goals in September.

Follow all the live action below...

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load...

Here’s everything you need to know about the game:

What time does it start?

The game kicks off at 7.45pm at Wembley on Thursday 5 October 2017.

Where can I watch it?

ITV will be broadcasting the game. Alternatively, return to this page for updates from our live blog.

It's a big game for...

The midfielder is set to start against Slovenia

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Life at Liverpool hasn’t got off to the flying start the 24-year-old would have hoped, having been restricted to five substitute appearances and a start in the EFL Cup defeat to Leicester. But reports on Thursday morning suggest he is in for a start against Slovenia and the midfielder will be keen to impress on his new boss Jurgen Klopp that he is ready for more first-team action.

Player to watch…

The 24-year-old is one of the world's best goalkeepers

Jan Oblak. Both Liverpool and Fulham came close to signing the Atletico Madrid stopper when he way a boy and how they must both be regretting their failure now. The 24-year-old has slowly but surely emerged as one of the world’s very best goalkeepers since joining the La Liga side in 2014 and will be doing everything in his power to keep a clean slate against England.

Form…

England: WWLDW

Slovenia: WLWLW

Odds…

England: 3/10

Draw: 17/4

Slovenia: 11/1

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of England's World Cup qualifier against Slovenia at Wembley.

Team news to follow in just over 10 minutes!

Liam Corless5 October 2017 18:33
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England line-up revealed

Here is your Three Lions team tonight: Hart; Walker, Cahill, Stones, Bertrand; Dier, Henderson; Rashford, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sterling; Kane.

Liam Corless5 October 2017 18:42
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What do England need to do to reach Russia tonight?

Gareth Southgate's men can guarantee their place at next summer's World Cup with a win tonight - but there are a host of other circumstances that will see them reach Russia if everything goes south against Slovenia.

If the match ends as a draw and Slovakia fail to beat Scotland at Hampden Park, England will qualify for the World Cup.

If England lose tonight then qualification will have to wait until Sunday, when the Three Lions travel to Lithuania.

Liam Corless5 October 2017 18:58
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Slovenia team news

Here is how the visiting team lines up tonight: Oblak; Struna, Mevlja, Cesar, Jokic; Krhin, Rotman; Bezjak, Ilicic, Verbic; Sporar.

Liam Corless5 October 2017 19:09
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Harry Kane and Eric Dier to do the business for England tonight?

Liam Corless5 October 2017 19:11
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England vs Slovenia previous five meetings

  • Slovenia 0-0 England, October 2016
  • Slovenia 2-3 England, June 2015
  • England 3-1 Slovenia, November 2014
  • Slovenia 0-1 England, June 2010
  • England 2-1 Slovenia, September 2009
Liam Corless5 October 2017 19:19
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Slovenia's star man

Slovenia aren't blessed with the kind of outfield talent that England are but they do have a couple of world-class goalkeepers.

Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak is their number one ahead of Inter Milan's Samir Handanovic and is undoubtedly Slovenia's best player. 

The 24-year-old Oblak kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in La Liga last season.

Liam Corless5 October 2017 19:29
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Countdown to kick-off

Just 10 minutes to go until the action gets underway at Wembley.

Liam Corless5 October 2017 19:36
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Gareth Southgate speaks pre-match

"I think we want to give a good performance. I think we're progressing as a team, we've got some exciting players. It's about time we really show people a performance that underlines the quality that we've got. 

"We've got some players that are bang in form - in an attacking sense in particular."

Quotes from ITV

Liam Corless5 October 2017 19:40
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1' - We are underway at Wembley.

Liam Corless5 October 2017 19:45

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