England crush North Macedonia 7-0 in Euro 2024 qualifier

 England continued their perfect start to the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a dominant 7-0 win over North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick and setting up another goal for Harry Kane, who also netted twice. Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips completed the scoring for the hosts, who have won all four of their Group C games so far.

England took the lead in the 12th minute when Saka headed in a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was making his first appearance for his country since recovering from a thigh injury. The 20-year-old doubled his tally in the 28th minute with a low shot from the edge of the box after a neat one-two with Kane.

Kane then got on the scoresheet himself in the 34th minute, converting a penalty after he was fouled by Visar Musliu. The Tottenham striker made it 4-0 just before half-time with a powerful header from another Alexander-Arnold delivery.

The second half was more of the same, as England showed no mercy to their hapless opponents. Rashford added a fifth goal in the 52nd minute with a curling shot from outside the box, before Saka completed his hat-trick in the 64th minute with a simple tap-in from Rashford’s pass.

Phillips rounded off the rout in the 76th minute with a long-range strike that flew into the top corner, capping off a memorable night for Gareth Southgate’s side.

England have scored 18 goals and conceded none in their four qualifiers so far, and are well on course to secure their place at Euro 2024 in Germany. They will face Italy and Malta in their next two fixtures in September.

North Macedonia, meanwhile, remain bottom of the group with one point from four games. They will hope to bounce back when they host Ukraine and Italy in their next two matches.