Cole Palmer made his senior England debut in a 2-0 win against Malta in a European Championship qualification at Wembley Stadium.

Palmer came off the bench for the final half-hour and lined up on the left of striker Harry Kane. Palmer seemed completely at home on the pitch, producing numerous deft touches and passes during his time on the field.

He cleverly set up one fine shooting opportunity for Trent Alexander-Arnold, then superbly outpaced his full-back in stoppage time before his centre was blocked behind for a corner. On a routine night for the Three Lions, it was a rare display of individual brilliance.

Conor Gallagher began in central midfield alongside Jordan Henderson at Wembley. During a low-key first half, England took the lead on an own goal but struggled to produce much against the European minnows, who threatened with a couple of decent long-range efforts of their own.

Gallagher was one of two players substituted at halftime, with Palmer replacing Marcus Rashford 15 minutes later. England’s lead was extended after Kane finished a beautiful move, and Declan Rice had a third goal disallowed for offside against Kane.

England’s next match is against North Macedonia on Monday night.

In other news, France was defeated 2-0 in Austria in Under-21 European Championship qualification tonight. Lesley Ugochukwu played the entire 90 minutes as a goal in either half ended France’s perfect start to qualification. Despite the defeat, they continue to lead Group H.

Diego Moreira, who is now on loan at Lyon, played 83 minutes as Portugal Under-20s defeated Norway 2-1 in a U20 Euro Elite qualifier. All of the goals were scored previous to Moreira’s departure.