In a dominant display, England secured a resounding 7-0 victory over North Macedonia at Old Trafford, with Bukayo Saka scoring his first career hat-trick. The Arsenal star was the standout performer of the match, with Harry Kane scoring twice and Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips also getting on the scoresheet.
England had previously beaten Malta 4-0 on Friday, and this latest victory ensured they maintained their six-point lead at the top of Group C in Euro 2024 qualification. With only two games left to play, positive results in the upcoming fixtures against Ukraine and Malta will guarantee England’s qualification for the tournament.
North Macedonia manager Blagoja Milevski praised England’s quality and acknowledged his team’s inability to compete against them. He cited fatigue from their previous match against Ukraine as a factor in their performance.
England’s victory was their largest margin of victory in a home match since November 2019, when they beat Montenegro by the same scoreline at Wembley. Saka’s hat-trick also saw him become the second-highest scoring Arsenal player for England, with 11 goals, behind only Cliff Bastin with 12.
Speaking on talkSPORT, pundit Durham likened England’s performance to “Gaz Ball,” a reference to the popular cricket game Baz Ball. Saka himself was delighted with his performance and stated that his favorite goal was his second, a volley from outside the box that found the top corner.
He also credited teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold with providing the assist for his first goal, saying that the Liverpool defender had promised to make that pass at halftime. Saka’s performance was rewarded with the match ball and the likely man of the match award.
With England’s impressive form and talented squad, talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor confidently predicted that “It’s coming home!” If England can maintain this level of performance, they could be serious contenders for the Euro 2024 title.
