'Not where we want to be' - Gareth Southgate makes stark England admission after unconvincing Malta victory as Euro 2024 looms

An Enrico Pepe own goal followed by Harry Kane's second-half strike saw England take three points from their clash at Wembley on Friday, making it four wins in a row for Southgate's team.

The Three Lions have won all but one of their seven Euro 2024 qualifying matches and have already confirmed their place in the competition in Germany next year. Nevertheless, Southgate feels his side should have done better against a Malta side who have lost every match in Group C, and suggested he is concerned about the state of his side with the tournament approaching.

"We didn't hit the heights we have done this calendar year. If you don't start games well it's very difficult to pick it up and we didn't," he said to BBC Radio 5 Live. "We know the level we've got should be better, can be better. Those games that you know you can win at a canter, the number of games these players are playing, it's almost a self-regulation. So not enough quality on the ball, and not enough chances created, but I have been a player and I know exactly how those games feel. Clearly it's possible we could have had three or four with the decisions as well, but we didn't create enough clear chances to deserve that anyway."

He added: "We have a lot of players that weren't in there. I thought Trent [Alexander-Arnold], Phil [Foden] and Marc Guehi were good and Cole Palmer coming on for his debut had a good impact. There are positives, but we know we were not where we want to be and can be."

Southgate's side will conclude their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a match against North Macedonia on Monday. After that, their next game is a friendly against Brazil in March.