England 2-0 Malta, World Cup 2018 qualifier RESULT: Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli give interim boss Gareth Southgate comfortable victory

That's it then from Sportsmail on a day when England began their new era under Gareth Southgate with three points. 

A 2-0 victory over Malta was the least that was expected, but a disappointing second half showed there is still work to be done. 

We'll say goodbye now, but if you want to follow our coverage of this evening's other World Cup qualifiers you can do exactly that by clicking here. 

ROB DRAPER AT WEMBLEY: England ran out comfortable winners against Malta on Saturday as they made it two wins from two in World Cup qualifying Group F in Gareth Southgate's first game in charge.

Daniel Sturridge was on hand to head home from Jordan Henderson's cross to give England the lead on the stroke of the half-hour mark.

Tottenham star Dele Alli made sure of the points when he poked home from close range to double the home side's advantage before the break.

READ THE FULL MATCH REPORT HERE

FULL TIME: So, it's all over at Wembley and it's three points for England and interim boss Gareth Southgate in his first game in charge of the Three Lions. 

Goals from Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli in the first half were enough to seal victory, but in truth the second half was a bit disappointing with no further goals added. 

Full match report and reaction to follow shortly... 

FULL TIME: It's all over at Wembley, the game finishing 2-0 to England. 

89mins: Into the final minute of normal time... 

Two minutes to be added on. 

87mins: Looks like England will have to settle for a 2-0 win at Wembley. 

Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson is named as the man of the match. 

Just a few minutes left now... 

85mins: What a miss! 

England press and press, spread the ball to Rashford on the right, and see the Manchester United man find Dele Ali just outside the six-yard box. 

From close range, the Tottenham man somehow puts it over the bar!

You just have to score those... 

84mins: The game a touch more stretched now as England look for a third goal, but still it hasn't arrived. 

Rashford now trying his luck on the right hand side. 

80mins: Wakey, wakey Joe Hart!

The England stopper has been a spectator in this game, but he's forced into a low save following a free-kick won by Mifsud. 

The Torino man does what's needed to be done to keep the ball out. 

78mins: England just not clicking in this second half, Lingard putting a dinked cross in when a shot on goal looked like a better option. 

81,781 the attendance at Wembley this evening. 

75mins: Attack against defence now. 

The ball is rebounding around the Malta box, the visitors making a change up top. 

Michael Mifsud, he of Coventry City fame, replaces Alfred Effiongffiong. 

73mins: Jamie Vardy comes on for the final 15 minutes or so, replacing scorer Daniel Sturridge. 

71mins: So, can Marcus Rashford make a difference? 

The Manchester United starlet is operating on the left of a forward three at the moment, but England don't look like adding to their score. 

And as I type, here comes Jamie Vardy... 

69mins: England win a free-kick on the edge of the box, Rooney takes it quickly and finds Lingard who fires in an effort which goes just wide. 

67mins: Marcus Rashford comes on to replace Theo Walcott for England. 

Can he grab a goal to add to his team's lead? 

64mins: Chance! 

Better from England as Lingard tears forward into space, driving at the Malta defence. 

He threads in Theo Walcott, whose dinked shot is saved by Hogg. 

The Malta goalkeeper is having a stormer! 

61mins: England go close again, Hogg clawing away a cross as Alli looked like getting his head to the ball for a third goal. 

Most of the danger in this half coming from the England right, Walker and Walcott seeing plenty of action. 

59mins: Approaching the hour mark, is it time for a change for England? 

Maybe the likes of Marcus Rashford or Jamie Vardy? 

55mins: Malta defender Steve Borg is the first man to go into the book at Wembley for a poor challenge on Jesse Lingard. 

From wide on the right hand side, Wayne Rooney puts in a free-kick which comes to nothing. 

53mins: Rooney whips in a free-kick which Hogg does well to push away, he's undoubtedly been Malta's stand-out player so far.  

In truth this game is won already, a subdued atmosphere around Wembley telling everyone as much. 

England need to put that to one side though and be ruthless, another couple of goals would be great. 

51mins: England with all the ball here, Malta forced into tracking the runners in white. 

Despite being 2-0 down, the men in red have the bus firmly parked here, England moving the ball from side-to-side in attempt to stretch their defence. 

No goals in the second half so far. 

48mins: There must me more goals in this for England. 

Kyle Walker is in oceans of space early on after the restart, but his weak cross finds a man in red rather than white. 

Unsurprisingly, it's Southgate's men dominating the first few minutes here. 

46mins: Back underway in the second half, can England add to their lead? 

HALF TIME VERDICT FROM SAM CUNNINGHAM: Jordan Henderson is showing Wayne Rooney how spraying balls around from central midfield is supposed to be done — his delivery has been superb during the first half. 

HALF TIME: The break arrives at Wembley with England 2-0 up thanks to goals from Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli. 

It's just reward for the home side's dominance. 

44mins - ADAM CRAFTON AT WEMBLEY: The breakthrough for England arrived just as Malta seemed relatively comfortable in this game. The visitors are defending so deep that it is a struggle to get England's creative forces such as Walcott, Alli and Lingard into any kind of space between the lines.

England's best chances, therefore, are coming from more direct balls from Jordan Henderson and Wayne Rooney. It was Henderson's cross that created the first goal but Rooney's radar is yet to find its target as he strives to unlock the Malta defence.

He was also lucky to avoid a booking for a really poor lunge in midfield.

42mins: It's all England. 

Daniel Sturridge has gone close to a second, bringing a low save from Hogg with the home side totally dominating the ball. 

Another excellent team move sees the ball spread to the right where Sturridge gets his head to the ball. The effort is saved, but that was an excellent team move from Gareth Southgate's side. 

38mins: It's 2-0 to England then, just reward for their domination of this game. 

Dele Alli drove into the box, his shot was saved by Hogg but the Maltese goalkeeper could only push the ball back into the path of the Tottenham man. 

He poked home the rebound to double England's advantage before the break. 

37mins: GOAL ENGLAND - Dele Alli

32mins: England, given confidence by Sturridge's goal, go close to a second. 

Rooney whips in a free-kick which only just evades the on-rushing John Stones. 

Then, minutes later, Sturridge picks out Lingard who is denied a goal on debut by another excellent save by Hogg. 

From the resulting corner, Gary Cahill puts a volley wide. 

Chances, chances, chances. 

29mins: It's taken a while, but England lead. 

Jordan Henderson, whose crossing has been brilliant so far, puts in another wicked delivery which finds his Liverpool team-mate Sturridge. 

The striker does the rest, planting a low header into the back of the net. 

28mins: GOAL ENGLAND - Daniel Sturridge. 

25mins: Still goalless at Wembley, with that double chance for Alli and Sturridge England's best opportunity to break the deadlock so far. 

A meaty challenge from Wayne Rooney has shown Malta he means business, England trying their best to spread the ball back and forth to stretch the visiting defence. 

The men in red, for now though, are holding firm. 

21mins: Chance! 

Dele Alli meets a superb cross from Henderson, gets his header in on goal but it's saved by Hogg. 

The ball falls low to Daniel Sturridge, but the Liverpool man smashes the ball over the bar.

Think that one is still travelling! 

18mins: Early substitution here for England as Ryan Bertrand walks off to be replaced by Tottenham defender Danny Rose at left back. 

Bertrand suffered a hamstring twinge, holding the back off his leg as he sprinted forward.

Meanwhile, Jesse Lingard makes a superb run, gets on the end of a wonderful Jordan Henderson pass but puts his effort over the bar. 

16mins: More of the same at Wembley, with England seeing all of the ball. 

Daniel Sturridge has seen a weak shot on goal saved, while one concern for Gareth Southgate at the moment is Ryan Bertrand. 

The Southampton man looks like he's struggling with a bit of a knock. 

He's set to come off, looks like a hamstring..

13mins: England building the pressure here, both full-backs Kyle Walker and Ryan Bertrand seeing plenty of the ball. 

Jesse Lingard, on debut, has fired a shot miles wide while Theo Walcott has just put in a decent cross from the right.  

Someone should have been gambling on that...

10mins - SAM CUNNINGHAM AT WEMBLEY: For this being touted as a sold out first game for interim manager Gareth Southgate, there are an awful lot of empty seats around Wembley.

Will the FA do an ‘Arsenal’ and claim the figure was ‘tickets sold’ rather than expected ‘attendance’? 

7mins: A disappointing free-kick from Rooney hits the Malta wall. 

England are seeing all the ball here, pressing well in defence to win it back. 

And the first chance for Rooney then arrives, the Manchester United skipper striking on goal and bringing a save from Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg. 

6mins: England win a free-kick on the edge of the box as Dele Alli goes down. 

Great position for a strike on goal this, looks like Wayne Rooney fancies it.

4mins: Malta are likely to be content to defend and defend here. 

Jordan Henderson, from deep, tries to find the running Theo Walcott but the ball runs out for a goal kick. 

3mins: Plenty of focus on captain Wayne Rooney again today, and he's had a mixed start in midfield with one ball intercepted, that quickly followed by a lovely diagonal pass to Kyle Walker. 

2mins: As expected lots of early possession for England at Wembley. 

Malta very much set up to frustrate with a back five and almost every man behind the ball, save for a lone striker. 

The home side moving the ball side-to-side at the moment, defenders John Stones and Gary Cahill seeing plenty of it. 

1min: Anthems done and dusted then, a proud moment for Gareth Southgate as he belts out God Save the Queen. 

We're underway at Wembley, England getting the game started.

The teams are in the tunnel... and here they come out on to the field with captain Wayne Rooney leading out England. 

Kick-off just minutes away now, time for the anthems. 

England will be hoping for goals today and much of the creativity will need to come from the likes of Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli. 

Both players have now completed their final preparations for the game. 

As mentioned today's game is a sell-out and plenty are already in ahead of kick-off. 

Twenty minutes to go until kick-off at Wembley then, Jesse Lingard leading the way in the warm-ups for England. 

Gareth Southgate has had his say ahead of tonight's game, revealing why he's picked Jesse Lingard to start the game. 

He told ITV: 'He's in a good moment, in form. He plays in front of 70,000 at Manchester United. He starts on the wing but comes inside and scores goals.

'I'm excited at how he goes today.' 

Southgate also confirms Wayne Rooney will play in midfield and not the No 10 role. 

Here's the Malta side to face England this afternoon...

Malta: Hogg, Muscat, Agius, Camilleri, Borg, Kristensen, Sciberras, Fenech, Muscat, Schembri, Effiong

Subs: Zerafa, Failla, Mifsud, Muscat, Pisani, Bonello, Farrugia, Scerri, Scicluna

Half an hour till what is a crucial World Cup qualifier for England. 

Gareth Southgate's men are out on the pitch warming up at the moment...

England interim boss Gareth Southgate is a man in demand at Wembley, here he is posing for a quick selfie with a fan... 

England might be the laughing stock of world football following the sacking of Sam Allardyce, but there's no doubt the fans are still backing the team. 

Tonight's game at Wembley is a sell-out, a remarkable feat given the low key nature of the opposition and the recent events surrounding the Football Association. 

More than 80,000 are expected to cheer on Gareth Southgate's side, and they're already in place at the home of English football... 

Here's a quick look inside the England dressing room with around 45 minutes until kick-off. 

Here's a quick reminder of the England team for this evening's game then, in case you missed it earlier.

It's the first side picked by interim manager Gareth Southgate. 

England XI: Joe Hart, Kyle Walker, Ryan Bertrand, Jordan Henderson, Gary Cahill, John Stones, Theo Walcott, Dele Alli, Daniel Sturridge, Wayne Rooney, Jesse Lingard

Subtitutes: Chris Smalling, Fraser Forster, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Michael Keane, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Michail Antonio, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Andros Townsend, Tom Heaton

It's a cool but dry day in London, ideal conditions for England to get the ball down against what should be inferior opposition. 

Gareth Southgate and his players are out on the pitch getting a feel for conditions at the moment... 

It's been another disastrous few weeks for the Football Association, but today's game with Malta is a chance for England and the public to focus on the action on the pitch. 

In truth England should quite comfortably brush aside Malta, with a sell-out Wembley crowd hoping for plenty of goals. 

So the team is out and here are a few pictures of manager Gareth Southgate and his England squad arriving at Wembley a little earlier... 

Jesse Lingard, who will make his England senior debut tonight, looks ready to go. 

Gareth Southgate has been true to his word then with his selection of his first England side. 

Plenty of attacking talent in his XI, with the likes of Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford waiting in reserve to come on and make an impact. 

'I am hugely excited by the match,' the former Middlesbrough boss said on Saturday. 

'The sell-out crowd shows what England means to the supporters and I don't think any country in the world will have a crowd like ours this weekend.

'My pride in leading the team is echoed by the players' desire to do well. It has shone through how much they want to make the country proud. I believe over the next few years they will.'

So here's confirmation of the England side, as expected in a 4-3-3 formation. 

Captain Wayne Rooney begins in midfield, alongside Jordan Henderson and Dele Alli. 

Daniel Sturridge leads the line in attack, supported by Theo Walcott and Jesse Lingard. 

The defence is made up of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Gary Cahill and Ryan Bertrand with Joe Hart in goal. 

Here's the England team to face Malta this evening...

England have arrived at Wembley ahead of this afternoon's game. 

We're expecting team news in the next few minutes or so... 

DOMINIC KING AND SAMI MOKBEL: Gareth Southgate has ordered his new-look England to go for goals and entertain as they prepare to kick off a new era on Saturday night.

Wembley is sold out for the first of Southgate's four games in charge against Malta and he is committed to naming an attacking line-up, with captain Wayne Rooney starting in midfield.

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has been rewarded for his flying start to the season, Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge will spearhead a 4-3-3 formation and Dele Alli will start after coming off the bench in Slovakia.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Good afternoon and welcome along to the start of another new dawn for England's national football team. 

Following the sacking of the disgraced Sam Allardyce, the Three Lions face Malta in their 2018 World Cup qualifier at Wembley this afternoon under the guidance of interim boss Gareth Southgate. 

Stay with us for all the build-up to the 5pm kick-off right here...