England vs Montenegro: Callum Hudson-Odoi stars as Gareth Southgate's side continue Euro 2020 qualifying procession

Montenegro 1-5 England: After a clumsy start, England cruised past a lightweight Montenegrin side, but the match was marred by racial abuse from the stands

It wasn’t one of the major breakthroughs that Gareth Southgate has already managed with England, of course, but it was a majorly heavy win that made for another little milestone; another step forward – not least to qualification. His side claimed the country’s first ever win in Montenegro through a commanding 5-1, and thereby made very light work of what is supposed to be one of the more difficult venues in European football. The main problem here was lamentable racial abuse towards Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling towards the end. That is for Montenegro to deal with. England easily dealt with their team.

That they came from behind in what had actually been a tough start made it all the more impressive, especially since that is a situation now increasingly rare for this side. This was just the third time they’d conceded the first goal in a competitive game under Southgate that wasn’t a dead rubber.

What is not rare for them, however, are goals of their own. England scored five in successive games for the first time since 1984, as Ross Barkley claimed two, with Michael Keane, Harry Kane and – of course – Raheem Sterling adding the others.

Montenegro had just been steamrolled, something all the more credible since they are a much more decent side than this match displayed.

That is the measure of England right now. That is what is so impressive about England right now. It is not just the goals, or how they keep winning these notionally awkward games, but how commanding they look in doing so. This is what previous champions like Spain and Germany made a virtue of, just dispatching such teams.

That was what they undoubtedly did here, even if it did take a little while. If the atmosphere initially wasn’t quite as hostile as previous visits here, with no projectiles being thrown down and God Save the Queen even warmly applauded, the home side were initially just as fired up, and then some.

England did actually seem to be caught a little cold by just how committed Montenegro were. It was tepidity against tenacity at that point, as symbolised by the opening goal. Keane so lackadaisically headed the ball out, only for it to bounce off him to allow Marko Vesovic to run on and cut through. He gave Jordan Pickford the eyes, and so smoothly curled a strike into the corner. The ground erupted.

That didn’t quite rouse England, but it crucially didn’t panic them, either. This is just as notable. Southgate has specifically been preparing his players for how to psychologically deal with set-backs given the all the pressure that comes with this national side, and how to stay calm. That is precisely what they did here. They just kept doing what they always do, if with more focus than from when before Montenegro scored.

Callum Hudson-Odoi impressed on his full England debut (Reuters)

And so, they scored in a way they almost always do, too: a set-piece. Keane made up for his error by so forcefully meeting Dele Alli’s fine delivery to power a header beyond Danijel Petkovic.

England then soon claimed control, and soon claimed the lead. Hudson-Odoi – who had already looked dangerous from a few runs – cut inside and fired a shot at goal that was probably headed for the net, only for Barkley to make sure.

It was the first time two Chelsea players had linked up for an England goal since September 2007 – Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole doing so then – and only re-emphasised how much the same club should be looking to keep Hudson-Odoi. That he was making a start for England before making a start in the Premier League pointed to an obvious disconnect somewhere, and a few lapses in judgement. There was little of that from Hudson-Odoi himself. He was actually the first player to properly threaten Montenegro and give them something to think about, jinking his way into the box in the first few minutes. That was something they never quite got to grips with.

He then showed the other side of his wing-play in the first few minutes of the second half, curling over a brilliant ball, that Raheem Sterling couldn’t quite connect with.

Hudson-Odoi connected well with a shot of his own moments later, but it was pushed away by Petkovic. Rice wasn’t quite as accomplished on his own full debut, as he misplaced a lot of passes, but did often win the ball back.

Ross Barkley had his best night in an England shirt (EPA)

If Hudson-Odoi was showing some supreme maverick streaks, though, he was almost matched by the ref. Belorussian Aleksei Kulbakov remarkably booked Barkley for taking a free-kick too quickly.

It didn’t cow him. Barkley’s timing was perfect just minutes later, as he arrived in the box to take advantage from a deflection and power the ball past Petkovic.

That was it as far as the contest was concerned, but there was still more to come from England. There was still the predictability of a Kane goal. With Montenegro pouring forward to try and get some way back into the game, Sterling surged down the other side of the pitch and squared for the striker to easily finish.

Jordan Henderson, on as a sub for his 50th cap, then fed a fine ball through for Sterling himself to finish.

Evidently bothered by the crowd, Sterling cupped his ears at them in celebration.

It was one of few flashpoints on the night. Everything else was just made look so easy.