Alex Howell
Football reporter at Ta' Qali National Stadium

You can’t get much better than that. Saka is causing so many problems already and his cross is bundled into the net.

Matthew Upson
Former England defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

Who is that with the pass? Trent Alexander Arnold. That is why he's in the team.

The timing, around the corner, Saka is onside and he's in. Not too much the defender could do.

John Murray
Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live

I spoke to a taxi driver earlier today and he said if all of them [Saka, Kane, Rashford etc.] are in the team here, he would be watching Tom and Jerry!

The corner isn't dealt with by Malta and Jordan Henderson lays it off to Harry Kane on the left. He forces a save from a tight angle but Henry Bonello was not too troubled.

A bright start from Trent Alexander-Arnold in that number 10 role. He sees space on the right, moves into it and beats two players. He curls a cross in for Bukayo Saka and England have a corner.

Image source, Reuters

John Murray
Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live

We are reliably informed that Manchester United have one of the biggest foreign followings here in Malta.

Matthew Guillaumier catches James Maddison, pulling his football boot off in the process and England have a free-kick inside the Malta half which they play short.

France are ahead in the Algarve within three minutes with Olivier Giroud heading in Kingsley Coman's cross from six yards. They lead Gibraltar 1-0.

Alex Howell
Football reporter at Ta' Qali National Stadium

Weirdly, Harry Maguire is being jeered by the Malta supporters.

Malta go straight at England from kick-off but they lose it almost immediately. Trent Alexander-Arnold knocks it down for Harry Kane in the middle and it's switched across the back.

Off we go in Malta.

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Howell
Football reporter at Ta' Qali National Stadium

The person in charge of the PA and music has been ramping up the atmosphere at least an hour before kick off. Now the teams are out both sets of fans are making a great noise.

Image source, BBC Sport

Rob Green
Former England goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

He's viewing him [Alexander Arnold] in a different role. He likes to be safe. Yeah he does provide things in attacking areas. Get your best players in the best positions. Who is our best deliverer of the ball? He is.

Here come the teams led by captain Harry Kane in Malta. A packed crowd at the Malta National Stadium.

Image source, Getty Images

Tyrone Mings believes the trophy-winning mentality of England's players can help the country claim its first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

Manchester City's five Treble-winning players linked up with the squad on Tuesday, joining several others with experience winning silverware.

"The manager always talks about your club experiences and adding to the group," said centre-back Mings.

"We have a squad full of serial winners. When you look around the European competitions and domestic competitions and the amount of players that were involved in those, it can only help.

"For sure [England can win a trophy] and that's not just down to talent."

England

Image source, Getty Images

England boss Gareth Southgate speaking to Channel 4: "Firstly we have to win the game but the way we have played has also evolved. They will be stubborn opponents tonight.

"Not so difficult [to pick a team]. I think the players have been excellent and really focused. Some are further ahead in the preparation. One or two haven't trained quite as much so they are better suited to having an impact off the bench."

On Trent Alexander-Arnold's position: "He's a fabulous player with the ball and his range of passing is something we are really excited to see.

"I want to see what he does every week. He can give us something different so we're really excited to see it.

"What will be different is out of possession. He is used to defending as a full-back but it's different angles of approach in midfield. He's an intelligent boy. The key is getting him in the areas where he can be so dangerous out wide and to have that freedom."

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford says he is "100% committed" to England after he faced criticism , externalfor a trip to New York following his withdrawal from international duty in March.

He missed Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine with an injury.

"I need time to switch off and recover. I took a short trip, four days, then went back to do rehab to try and get ready as soon as possible," he said.

"With injuries, you can't predict when they're going to happen. Occasionally you do get impact injuries. I know that I'm committed to [England], 100%.

"People are going to say what they're going to say. It doesn't really bother me."

England

England manager Gareth Southgate on the BBC Football Daily podcast: "Yes in some respects [last summer was in our thoughts for this week], because there are things that I don't think we did get right last summer and there are always at this time of year lots of things outside of your control. We tried to get the training week as good as we could. But it's about mentality really. The players have had a couple of week's break and have enjoyed getting back together again. The focus has been good all week and the top teams win the games we nailed in March and then go and win the next ones and that's what we have to do."

On City's Champions League-winning quartet "We weren't really looking at any group for the first game because we've had players in the Champions League finals before and we knew what an emotional high and low that would be for them. We weren't planning for any of them for the first week. They'll be involved and on the bench but we also know that it's hard to gauge how much it has taken out of them."

On Levi Colwill's call-up: "He's travelled with the squad. He's been a slightly late addition but he's a player we wanted to see anyway. I'm travelling out to the Under-21s Euros so he's a player that we want to link back up with the Under-21s and if we get through the game here with a clean bill of health, we might be able to do that a little earlier. But he's trained really well and his mentality and his temperament is really good. We've enjoyed working with him and he's enhanced his cause while being with us."

On Jude Bellingham's transfer to Real Madrid: "I think we've been talking just now about our players winning trophies and having those big match experiences. If you're at a club that has to win every game and you're under that intense spotlight, that can only help you develop as a player. The more experiences like that our players get, the better for England."