Lithuania 0-1 England: Three talking points from England's victory

                                      

                            Harry Winks' debut was among the talking points as England beat Lithuania


      Harry Kane's first-half penalty was enough to earn England three points and a 1-0 win over Lithuania in Vilnius on Sunday evening.

The victory means England are off to next summer's World Cup in Russia having enjoyed an unbeaten qualification campaign but there are still issues for Gareth Southgate to resolve.

Here, we pick out three talking points from the game…

Southgate tried 3-4-3

England boss Gareth Southgate took the opportunity to test out an alternative formation with World Cup qualification already secured. The 3-4-3 system is favoured by some of the stronger sides in the Premier League right now, including champions Chelsea, and it is easy to see why Southgate would be tempted as it appears to suit the players at his disposal.

However, with so many changes to the team for the trip to Lithuania, it is not yet clear how useful this exercise will have been for the England boss. The build-up play was still too tentative at times and it could only be deemed a qualified success. At least the game was won - on the two previous occasions he has used 3-4-3, Southgate's team has been beaten.

Maguire shows the way

One of the necessities when playing three centre-backs up against a solitary striker is that those defenders are capable of bringing the ball out of defence. Perhaps that was part of the thinking behind the decision to give Leicester's Harry Maguire his England debut. The 24-year-old is well known for his driving runs and came up with one for the goal.

Maguire carried the ball up the field in the build-up to the move that saw Dele Alli fouled inside the penalty box with Harry Kane converting the resulting penalty. It has been a swift rise for a player who was in the Championship as recently as May of last year but he could well be off to the World Cup next summer - particularly if Southgate sticks with 3-4-3.

Winks shines on debut

Maguire was not the only debutant to enhance his reputation with namesake Harry Winks arguably the most accomplished performer on the pitch. The Tottenham midfielder's desire to get on the ball and his neat use of it when he got it was encouraging and belied his lack of experience - the 21-year-old Winks has only made four league starts in his career to date.

Southgate was clearly delighted with what he saw, describing himself as "really pleased" with the maturity shown by the youngster. With England evidently short of midfield options - particularly those capable of picking a forward pass - it would not be a surprise to see Winks get further opportunities to impress prior to the World Cup.