Jadon Sancho brace to open England account

Jadon Sancho on Tuesday became the first England player born in the year 2000 or later to score an international goal, and the first teenager since Wayne Rooney in 2004 to score a brace wearing Three Lions on his shirt. 

The goals were comparatively simple affairs, scored within the space of two minutes on the stroke of half time. Both were created by excellent work from his veteran colleague on the other flank, man-of-the-match Raheem Sterling, who allowed Sancho to tap into an empty net for his second.

"It was a crazy game, five goals and I'm happy to get two of them," Sancho said. "It was a great comeback, how we responded was really good."

Arguably Sancho's most critical contribution on the night was his own work down the right flank, crossing low and forcing Kosovo defender Mergim Vojvoda to concede an own goal, at that point making the score 3-1. Officially, though, that one won't go down as the assist the Dortmund youngster probably deserved. Sancho's employers in Dortmund had a close eye on the game after their young charge was given a second start in an England shirt. 

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Eight-goal thriller

With many traveling fans on hand, the atmosphere at the St. Mary's Stadium in Southampton was lively. And the match itself was a rollercoaster, finishing 5-3 and quite possibly concerning England manager Gareth Southgate, who had been forced to make changes at the back owing to injury.

Kosovo's Valon Berisha opened the scoring after just 35 seconds following a calamitous error by center back Michael Keane on the edge of his own box. England's attack of Harry Kane, Sterling and Sancho then ran riot, establishing a 5-1 lead for England at the break. England faltered again after the restart, though, conceding a pair in quick succession. Harry Kane, usually as reliable as an AK-47 from 11 yards, then squandered the chance to categorically put the game out of Kosovo's reach from the penalty spot. Some fans quipped online that this was karmic, that Sancho should have been given a shot at a hat trick instead of England's captain and regular penalty taker.

"A bizarre game," England manager Southgate told British broadcaster ITV after the game. "I'm really pleased with the composure we showed to come back from an early mistake. But we need to play better, the players don't need me to tell them that." 

Kosovo's impassioned manager Bernard Challandes had talked at length before the game about his desire to see aggressive, pressing football, even against a top-class opponent. In truth, Kosovo may have stuck too rigidly to this game plan, allowing England ample chance to make amends after conceding so early.

Four wins in four, Kosovo's run at an end

England move to the top of Group A with that win, with a perfect record of four wins in four. Kosovo, still a contested country after its unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, and only accepted as a FIFA member in 2016, sit third in the group with eight points from five matches. A remarkable 15-game unbeaten run, for a country with a population of less than 2 million, also came to an end on Tuesday in Southampton.

The Czech Republic moved past Kosovo into second in Group A courtesy of a 3-0 win in Monenegro.

Elsewhere in European qualifying action on Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo bagged four goals for Portugal in a 5-1 rout of Lithuania.