Dominic Solanke wins his third England cap

On Sunday afternoon, England hosted the Republic of Ireland at Wembley, needing a win of any kind to guarantee their status as group winners, and subsequently securing promotion back to league A of the UEFA nations league.

The competition for places in the England team has been apparent for Solanke this week, with Ollie Watkins starting England’s game against Greece on Thursday evening, and Harry Kane coming into the side for the showdown with the Republic of Ireland here.

England cap number three for Spurs striker Dominic Solanke

After a very hard to watch first half, where England were visibly struggling to break down the visitors low block, and Kane not very well himself, there were some shouts for Solanke to come on for the second half, and give England some fresh energy and impetus up front.

That, ultimately, did not happen, and England, and Kane, did improve in the second half, scoring three goals in five second half minutes between the 53rd and 58th minutes. With a quarter of an hour to go, Solanke did come on, replacing midfield Conor Gallagher, as Lee Carsley attempted to continue to set England up to score as many as possible – partnering Solanke with Kane.

The break in play that allowed the subs was for a free-kick, one that England then immediately scored from, before even adding a fifth after that. Solanke looked eager in his cameo, and nearly scored from a Kane cross, with Caoimhin Kelleher just about getting their first. England would win the game 5-0.

As touched on above, this win means England have topped their group, with 15 points from six games, finishing above Greece on head to head record, and securing their promotion back to league A at the first attempt.

Even failing the head to head record, they had superior goal difference. As a result, England will begin their World Cup qualifying campaign in March rather than in September (just nine months before the tournament), and will not have to play a two legged nations league play off to try and get promoted.

This international break for Solanke has been pretty perfect from a Spurs point of view. From the human side of it, you can be happy that his hard work has been rewarded with another cap, whilst also being delighted that the striker has only accumulated 15 minutes across the break, and is fully fresh for the intense schedule coming up.