Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's World Cup qualifying match between England and Malta at Wembley! English football has not exactly excelled itself in recent weeks, but it is matters on the pitch which will take centre stage today. The hosts are looking to make it two wins from two in Group F, but anything other than a convincing victory is likely to pile more misery on the beleaguered Three Lions. First things first, though - let's take a look at the teams!

ENGLAND STARTING XI: Hart; Walker, Cahill, Stones, Bertrand; Henderson, Rooney, Lingard, Alli, Walcott; Sturridge

ENGLAND SUBS: Smalling, Forster, Rose, Dier, Keane, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Antonio, Vardy, Rashford, Townsend, Heaton

So Gareth Southgate's first starting lineup as interim manager is out, and there are a few notable inclusions (and exclusions) from the Under-21s boss. The headline belongs to Manchester United attacker Jesse Lingard, who makes his England debut today. It will be a day he never forgets, and with Malta as the opposition he may even be hopeful of following in the footsteps of the likes of Vardy, Kane and Rashford recently in scoring on their debuts.

Incidentally, Vardy, Kane and Rashford are all absent from the starting XI this afternoon, with Kane injured and the other two forced to settle for places on the bench. Rashford was restored to the squad by Southgate having been left out of Sam Allardyce's only game in charge - during which time he scored a hat-trick for Southgate's Under-21 side. Both he and Vardy - who has become something of a regular for England following his meteoric rise last season - miss out to Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge this afternoon.

Southgate confirmed in his press conference yesterday that Theo Walcott would start the match, and that is indeed the case, with the Arsenal winger being rewarded for his good early-season form. He has scored four goals in his last four games for the Gunners, and 10 years after first breaking into the squad he makes his 45th cap today. The absence of injured pair Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling no doubt helped him to earn a place for this one, but he has also been in good form in his own right this season.

He is expect to play on the right of the three behind Sturridge, which also includes the debutant Jesse Lingard and Tottenham Hotspur's Dele Alli. That youthful pairing have the ability to excite England fans today, and with Southgate urging his team to be brave in this match, they could be the pair who lead that charge. With all of that front four playing for different clubs, though, it will be interesting to see if they can gel nice and quickly.

Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Southgate's first team selection was over Wayne Rooney - as it has been for club and country for a while now. The skipper has lost his place in the United side, but starts this afternoon - notably in a deeper midfield role alongside Jordan Henderson. Rooney received a lot of criticism following the match against Slovakia, with even Sam Allardyce suggesting that he played wherever he wanted, but today he earns his 117th cap and his recent record in qualifiers has been very good - he has 14 goals and two assists in his last 15.

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While the midfield and strikers see four changes from the win over Slovakia, Southgate makes just one switch at the back as Bertrand starts in place of Rose, who drops to the bench. There was a question mark over the fitness of Gary Cahill after he missed training on Friday due to a sore throat, but the Chelsea man has recovered in time to retain his place, despite some questionable performances at club level this season. He starts alongside Stones again, with Smalling having to settle for a place on the bench. Kyle Walker makes up the back four, while Torino's loanee Joe Hart is in goal once again.

MALTA STARTING XI: Hogg; Borg, Z.Muscat, Agius, Camilleri, A.Muscat; Kristensen, Sciberras, Fenech; Effiong, Schembri

MALTA SUBS: Mifsud, Bonello, Scerri, Farrugia, Scicluna, Pisani, R Muscat, Failla, Zerafa

As for Malta, they make four changes to the side which was beaten 5-1 by Scotland last time out, with Carvana and Gambin missing out having picked up red cards in that match. Scicluna and Zerafa are the other two to drop out as they settle for a place on the bench. Effiong, who scored Malta's goal to level things up against Gordon Strachan's side, once again leads the line for the visitors today.

Malta have just two players in their squad who play their football outside of Malta, and both start today - Arezzo's Zach Muscat and Boavista's Andre Schembri. English football fans may also remember the name of Michael Mifsud, formerly of Coventry City, who starts on the bench today. He is something of a Maltese legend, and if he makes it onto the pitch today then it will be his 119th cap for his country, taking him joint second on the all-time list. He already leads the way in terms of goals by some distance with 40.

That is what England will come up against today, then, but in all honesty anything other than a comprehensive win would be the latest in a long line of disappointments for the team. It is difficult to tell before the match whether this game will come as a welcome distraction - a chance to wipe the slate clean, almost - or whether the recent revelations and England's lingering Euro 2016 disappointment will seep into the players for this match too.

Simply put, it has been a disastrous few months for England. From being dumped out of the Euros by Iceland to the undercover media sting that forced Sam Allardyce to step down after only 67 days in charge, this has been a damaging spell for football in the country, and it could now be down to this group of players to turn that around. Allardyce departed as comfortably the shortest-surviving England manager of all time, and quite who the FA will turn to next is still very much up in the air.

The FA do still have plenty of time to make their decision having appointed Gareth Southgate as interim boss initially until the end of the year - a four-game spell that will see him face Malta and Slovenia this month, and then Scotland and Spain in November. The likes of Arsene Wenger, Eddie Howe and Alan Pardew have been linked with the vacant post when a permanent successor does get appointed, but having gone for Allardyce so recently, any successor is naturally likely to be second choice at best.

Even with the unrest and uncertainty in the England set-up right now, the team will still be expected to top Group F, particularly considering their recent record in qualifiers. It didn't help them much at the tournament itself, but England won all 10 of their qualifying games for Euro 2016, while their unbeaten run in qualifiers stretches back 30 matches to a game against Ukraine in October 2009. They have won 23 of those 30 matches too, scoring 83 goals in the process and conceding just two.

The most recent of those saw Sam Allardyce scrape a late 1-0 win over Slovakia in this only match in charge, despite the Slovaks bring down to 10 men for more than half an hour, but the result did at least extend the team's recent run to just one defeat in their last eight matches - albeit an embarrassing one at the hands of Iceland. In competitive games, that Iceland defeat is England's only loss since the 2014 World Cup - a run of 16 matches that includes 12 wins.

Wembley has notoriously been a fortress for England down the years too, with only one defeat in their last 13 matches here since back-to-back losses at the hands of Chile and Germany in November 2013. They have won 12 of the 13 matches since then, with a 2-1 defeat to Netherlands during the run-up to Euro 2016 their only blemish.

Indeed, they have only ever lost one competitive match at Wembley, although it was a costly one as Croatia's 3-2 victory in 2007 saw Steve McClaren's side fail to qualify for the Euros. They are unbeaten in 19 competitive home games since then, though, while their last home loss in a World Cup qualifier came in the last match at the old Wembley - almost exactly 16 years ago today. They have won 16 and drawn two World Cup qualifiers on home soil since that 1-0 loss to Germany, which also saw Kevin Keegan's spell as manager come to an end.

It may be an England side in disarray, then, but Malta will arrive here knowing that anything but a hefty defeat would be a relatively good result for them. They are one of the minnows of world football and quickly sunk to the bottom of Group F on matchday one with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Scotland. They actually went into half time of that match level at 1-1, but it was a nightmare second 45 as they had two men sent off and Scotland scored four times - including Robert Snodgrass completing his hat-trick.

Mala were, unsurprisingly, one of the worst performers on matchday one, with only Liechtenstein - who lose 8-0 to Spain - faring worse in all of the groups. They did at least manage to get on the scoresheet through Effiong, but if they were so comfortably beaten at home to Scotland, who haven't even reached a major tournament since 1998, then hopes will not be high of getting anything out of an away game against England.

Malta's record over the years in qualifying competition makes for pretty grim reading, with only five victories from 195 competitive games. Just one of those wins have come in their last 50 qualifying games - a spell which has also included six draws and 43 defeats - while it has been 15 games since their last win - a 1-0 triumph over Armenia during World Cup qualifying in June 2013.

Unfortunately, things don't improve when solely looking at World Cup qualifying either, with Malta having lost 15 of their last 16 matches when trying to reach the finals - that Armenia win being the only exception in that time. Indeed, that result is one of only two World Cup qualifying wins Malta have ever enjoyed from their 93 outings (D9 L82). They have been shipping goals in their most recent ones too, with 15 conceded in their last three.

Both of those World Cup qualifying wins did come away from home, but that isn't exactly enough to fill fans with optimism today. The victories came in Estonia in 1993 and Armenia in 2013, both 1-0, but aside from that they have only avoided defeat in one of their other 44 away World Cup qualifiers. In all competitions Malta are currently on a 16-match winless streak away from home - a run that has seen them lose 14 times and score just three goals. They have not scored more than one goal in an away game since beating San Marino 3-2 in August 2012.

Home and away, with it 11 games since Malta last won a match of any type, dating back to a 2-0 triumph over Lithuania in June 2015. That is their only victory in their last 21 outings, including 16 defeats, and they have failed to even score in 15 of those. They have, however, found the back of the net in each of their last three games, which is their best scoring run since 2013.

Should they manage to get a goal against an England defence which was very stingy during Euros qualifying, conceding only three times, then it would be the first time that Malta have scored in four consecutive matches since 2011. That could well be their most realistic goal for this match rather than coming away with any points. If they did manage to nick a draw, though, then it would be one of the biggest shocks in recent memory - Malta are ranked 164 places below England in the FIFA rankings.

PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Wembley, which means that it is time for a prediction! I cannot see anything other than a convincing England win here, particularly as the players will have a bit of a point to prove. It seems to be a question of just how many goals England will score, and I am going to plump for five. A 5-0 home win!

For all of England's troubles of late, huge credit has to go to the fans. The match today is once again a sell-out, and many national teams fail to get crowds anywhere near Wembley's even when their team are playing well. That will surely help to lift the players after this unsettling period.

These two sides have met on three previous occasions, although not since 2000. Martin Keown put the Three Lions ahead on that occasion, but a Richard Wright own goal levelled things up shortly afterwards - Malta's one and only goal against England. It took an Emile Heskey strike with 15 minutes remaining to see England over the line.

It was also a bit of a struggle when England travelled to Malta during the 1972 European Championship qualifiers, with a Martin Peters strike all that separated the two sides on that occasions. Their only previous meeting on English soil brought a comfortable win for the hosts, though, as Chivers (2), Lee, Clarke and Lawler all got on the scoresheet in a 5-0 victory.

Right, the players are out and the anthems have been sung, so we're just about ready to go at Wembley. It is all eyes on England!

KICKOFF: Here we go then! England get us underway at Wembley!

You already sense that England may need to be a little patient today, with Malta packing men behind the ball early on. Rooney has already been caught in possession in midfield, but nothing came of Malta's counter-attack.

Henderson looks to split the defence with a ball inside the full-back aimed towards Walcott, but he puts far too much on it and it goes behind for a goal kick.

Alli is dragged down in a decent area of the field, and England have a free kick in a promising position here...

Rooney goes for it, but the wall does its job and blocks the effort.

SAVE! The first sight of goal this afternoon goes to England, and it is the captain Wayne Rooney who has the effort. He curls a powerful effort towards goal from just outside the area, but it is at a nice height for Hogg who parries it away. Decent strike, and a decent save too.

England have spent the opening 10 minutes of this match encamped in the Malta half, and I don't see that changing too much as the game wears on. It should just be a case of when they are able to make a breakthrough.

England want a free kick as Zach Muscat brings down Walcott just outside the box, but the referee says no. Moments later a loose ball drops to Lingard, but he slices a wild effort well off target.

England's main progress is coming down the flanks so far, particularly the right wing. A few crosses have arrived from that side already, but with no joy just yet.

SAVE! For all of England's possession, Sturridge is being forced to drop deep and float out wide simply to get on the ball. He drops outside the area here before whipping a shot towards goal, but it is easy for the keeper to gather.

It looks as though Bertrand's match may be over already. He pulls up with what looks like a hamstring injury and Danny Rose is now getting ready to replace him.

ENGLAND SUB: Sure enough, there is the change as Bertrand wanders off to be replaced by Rose.

CHANCE! Half a chance for Lingard to mark his debut with his goal as Henderson picks out the United attacker's clever run with a fine pass. Lingard attempts a first-time half-volley from inside the box, but he fires the difficult chance well off target.

CHANCES! Two huge chances for England to take the lead, but both go begging! Henderson swings a cracking cross into the box that Alli does really well to rise and meet with a firm header from close range. His effort is too close to the keeper, though, and Hogg parries it away. The loose ball falls to Sturridge, who really should score, but he has a swing at it with his weaker foot and blazes it off target from a tight angle.

Rooney is a little fortunate here. Rooney gets the ball as he goes flying into the challenge, but he follows through and catches the player quite high. He looked out of control there, and it wouldn't have been the biggest surprise if the referee produced a red card for that in the current climate. The referee, though, rules no foul and lets play carry on.

That Rooney challenge was the type that, 20 years ago, would have been considered a good, strong challenge. In 2016, though, he was taking a risk in leaving the ground there and could well have been punished by the ref. An England red card is the last thing he needs right now.

Henderson feeds a pass in to Alli, who wriggles his way past one defender but is then stopped before he can burst into the box. Interestingly, so far it has been Henderson acting as the ball-playing deep-lying midfielder, while Rooney has done more of the tackling.

There is another pass from Henderson, and the Liverpool connection comes good as Sturridge opens the scoring! Henderson whips a good cross into the middle which Sturridge meets with a really well-directed header that goes just inside the box. He was wild and wasteful with his chance a few minutes ago, but that was all about precision.

That is the breakthrough for England, and now they can afford to relax a little. It is probably not going to make Malta come out and play any more than they otherwise would have, but at least a bit of the pressure is off their shoulders now.

England win a free kick in a decent position, and Rooney swings an enticing cross into the middle. Stones is racing in at the back post, but he can't make contact and Hogg collects it.

CHANCE! Another huge chance for England, but another brilliant save from Hogg! Sturridge played a lovely cross towards the back post which Lingard meets with a header from close range, but Hogg anticipates it and tips it wide.

CHANCE! The chances are flooding in now! The resulting corner sees Alli go for a diving header which he fails to properly connect with, but the loose ball drops to Cahill. He has a swing at it, but shins it just wide.

Here is that goal from Sturridge, which separates the two sides as things stand...

Sturridge gives England the lead against Malta with a fine header https://t.co/cQpBfIQ0tz — ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 8, 2016

It has been coming! England have their second, and again it is Henderson who is the catalyst. He bursts forward from midfield to collect the ball off Sturridge before playing a pass square to Alli. He sweeps an effort towards goal which is initially saved by Hogg, but reacts quickly to get to the rebound ahead of the defender to turn it into the open net.

Well, it was relatively slow-going at times in the opening half an hour, but there is no doubt that England deserve this two-goal lead. Indeed, but for a number of fine saves by the Malta keeper, it could be a lot more comfortable for Southgate's side.

CHANCE! Another chance for England to well and truly kill this one off before half time. Sturridge breaks into the box down the right hand side and tries to squeeze one under the keeper from a tight angle, but Hogg makes the save.

CHANCE! Another chance for Sturridge at the end of some good football from England. Walker delivers the cross this time which the Liverpool striker nods towards goal, but this time it is straight at the keeper.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

England go into the break ahead, then, and it has all be fairly routine for them so far. They made a fairly slow start to the game, but really upped the tempo after the 20-minute mark and only Hogg in the Malta goal has denied them a more substantial lead going into the break. It has been one-way traffic at Wembley.

The opening goal took 29 minutes to arrive, but it was a lovely header from Sturridge that gave England the lead. Henderson, who has been England's standout player so far today, swung a fine cross into the middle that Sturridge met with a pinpoint header that nestled right in the bottom corner.

A second arrived less than 10 minutes later, and once again Henderson was involved as he drove forward from midfield before playing a pass inside for Alli. The Tottenham midfielder's initial effort was kept out by Hogg, but Alli reacted quicker than the defence to steer the rebound home and double England's lead.

There have been no shortage of other chance for England, and in truth it probably should be more than a two-goal difference between the two sides at the break. The best chances fell to Alli and Sturridge in quick succession, with the former being denied with a header from close range before Sturridge blazed the rebound off target with the goal gaping. Lingard has also missed a clear chance from close range, in addition to seeing an ambitious half-volley fly off target as he looks to mark his debut with a goal.

KICKOFF: Malta get is back underway for the second half here, with England surely now 45 minutes away from making it two wins from two in qualifying.

No surprises that England have quickly regained control of this match in the early stages of this second half. They are camped inside the Malta half and pushing for the third goal to put the result beyond any doubt whatsoever.

Rose is fouled out on the left flank to give England a free kick in a good crossing position. Rooney swings it into the box, but it is nodded behind for a corner.

England now have another free kick in a similar position after a handball was given against Fenech. Rooney over it again...

SAVE! This time Rooney tries to go for goal with a swing effort towards the far top corner, but Hogg tips it over the top.

YELLOW CARD! The first card of the afternoon is shown to Borg for a foul on Lingard, who had just skipped away from the defender.

Two goals is still the difference between these two sides as we approach the hour mark, but England will have no worries about not winning this one comfortably now. It took almost half an hour to make the breakthrough in the first half, and they are being forced to be patient again here.

Malta have a free kick inside the England half! It comes to nothing, but that is about their brightest attacking moment of the match so far.

Almost a chance for England as Walker swings a cross towards the back post, with Alli coming in there. Hogg gets a hand to it, though, and while the ball drops into a dangerous area there are no white shirts to turn it home.

There hasn't been too much to shout about in this second half to be honest. Clear chances have been few and far between, which both sides almost looking content with this scoreline right now.

CHANCE! Here is a chance for England, but not for the first time tonight Hogg comes to Malta's rescue. Lingard drives forward before slipping a reverse pass through for Walcott, but the Arsenal winger is denied by Hogg, who was very quick off his line.

Here is Dele Alli's goal from earlier, giving England the 2-0 lead they currently enjoy.

Watch: @Dele_Alli scores England's second goal against Malta https://t.co/ElCnRUai3q — ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 8, 2016

ENGLAND SUB: England make their second change of the evening as Marcus Rashford replaces Walcott for the final 20 minutes or so.

CLOSE! Quick thinking from Rooney as he plays an early free kick short to Lingard in space. The debutant lines up an effort, but drives the powerful low strike wide of the target.

Just under 20 minutes remain in this match now, and I'm not sure a 2-0 lead will be quite substantial enough for England. They missed a hatful of chances in the first half and haven't exactly set the world alight in the second so far.

ENGLAND SUB: The home side make their third and final change as Jamie Vardy replaces Sturridge.

England will get three points from this match, but considering the possession and territory they have enjoyed tonight, they really should be winning by more than two goals.

MALTA SUB: The visitors make their first change of the night, and it is Michael Mifsud who gets a run-out. He is Malta's most famous player - can he give them a famous moment at Wembley?

Well, it hasn't exactly been a rip-roaring performance in Gareth Southgate's first match. England enjoyed a really good spell from 30 minutes to 45 minutes, but aside from that it has been pretty uninspiring from the hosts.

A long ball is played up to Mifsud, who does well to hold it up before winning a foul from Cahill. Malta have a free kick in their best position of the match so far...

SAVE! Malta have their first chance of the match too! The ball is floated over the head of Alli at the back post and is met by a fine volley by Agius, but Hart is there to turn it around the post.

Still no real signs of a third goal for England right now. This will take them to the top of Group F for a few hours at least, but it isn't as convincing as many would have expected.

CHANCE! There is a big chance for England to get that third! Rashford cuts a low cross into the box for Alli, but he blazes it over the top when he really should have scored! That is a sitter.

MALTA SUB: Another change for the visitors as Schembri makes way to be replaced by Rowen Muscat.

Malta, in fairness, have kept their shape and discipline well tonight, but England really haven't done enough to break them down with all of their possession. Hogg has made a number of good saves to keep the score down, but this isn't exactly a great result for the hosts.

There will be just two added minutes at the end of this match.

It is a win and three points for England, then, as they move top of Group F, but it wasn't exactly a performance that will have the rest of Europe running scared. For the most part, England looked uninspiring and unimaginative, with the only exception coming during a 15-minute spell before half time. They were never in danger of coming away with any less than three points, particularly after Sturridge and Alli had sent them into the break 2-0 up, but their failure to add to that lead despite dominating possession and territory will draw some criticism.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as England begin the Gareth Southgate era with a victory, beating Malta 2-0 courtesy of goals from Sturridge and Alli. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!