EURO 2020 Qualifier
Result: England 4-0 Bulgaria
Date: 07 September 2019
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Harry Kane bagged a hat-trick as England thumped Bulgaria 4-0 to move top of Group A in the 2020 European Championship qualifiers on Saturday.
Kane and Marcus Rashford lead the English attack from the onset with Michael Keane and Danny Rose also making a return to the starting eleven.
Jordan Henderson's attempted first-time volley on the edge of the area in the first 14 minutes following a cross-field by Rose flew off target as the hosts looked to the breakthrough.
A high-press from the English culminated in the opener at the midway point after Raheem Sterling capitalised on poor possession to feed Kane for an easy tap-in.
Bulgaria possessed composure despite the set-back and came out renewed in the second half, with Wanderson Farias stinging the gloves of Jordan Pickford from a shot on the near side.
The English went further in front as Rashford earned a penalty after being brought down by Nikolay Bodurov, leaving Kane to complete his brace 49 minutes on the clock.
England's domineering effect continued six minutes later as Sterling latched onto Kane's square ball to fire into the roof of the net for the home side's third on the night. After a solid performance, the Manchester City playmaker made way for Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho in the final 20 minutes of the match.
Another penalty went to the hosts two minutes later, which Kane tucked home after being upended inside the 18-yard area- completing his hat-trick in the process.
The Bulgarians provided only their second big threat on 75 minutes with Ivelin Popov's free-kick tipped over for a corner kick, before Rashford threatened a fifth from a surging run into the area after obtaining possession on the far side, but the Manchester United forward couldn't beat Plamen Iliev.
The Three Lions now turn attention to Kosovo at home on Tuesday, with their unbeaten run in the qualifying stage in a healthy state.
