Gareth Southgate believes Phil Foden is reducing England’s reliance on Harry Kane for goals as he savoured the way he has more scorers than before.
Foden, who opened his England account with a brace against Iceland in November, could be set to start as a winger against Albania on Sunday.
Southgate is without a host of attacking players, with Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish, Danny Ings, James Maddison and Harvey Barnes all injured.
Kane, who was rested for Thursday's 5-0 win over San Marino, will return but Southgate is heartened by the number of other players who have the capacity to find the net as he urged his midfielders and wingers to carry on scoring.
“Phil is very exciting,” he said. “He has the skills to receive under pressure and the movement of his body to take players out of the game with his tight control. He has a lovely range of passing and a disguised pass.
“What has impressed me most is he has a real eye for goal and a hunger to score. From attacking midfield or a wide position, it’s important players chip in with goals. You need goals from different areas.”
“About 12 months ago, when we named a squad outside of Harry, Raheem [Sterling] and Marcus there were very few goalscorers for England and over that period we have been able to name players and those goal tallies are ticking over. Phil has scored for England and Mason [Mount] and Jesse [Lingard].”
Mount has been used as a forward for Chelsea by Thomas Tuchel but Southgate could deploy him as a midfielder.
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England Player ratings in 5-0 win over San Marino
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ENGLAND RATINGS: Nick Pope - 6, Had hardly anything to do so it’s difficult to give him a rating that’s any higher. AFP -
Reece James - 7, Was brilliant going forward, putting in a great cross for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s first goal, but had some unconvincing moments defensively. Reuters -
John Stones - 6, Missed a decent early chance and had the odd lapse in concentration, but moved the ball around well and looked comfortable. PA -
Conor Coady - 6, Didn’t have much to do throughout the game and took a blow to the face but was usually reliable when called upon. EPA -
Ben Chilwell – 8, Was superb down the left, assisting the opener with a well-executed pull-back. Also forced a good save from Elia Benedettini with a strike from range. Reuters -
James Ward-Prowse - 8, Moved the ball around well and provided the opener with a great finish. Forced a superb save with his effort from a free-kick. AP -
Kalvin Phillips - 6, Had a few moments of sloppiness on the ball but looked comfortable and got himself involved in a lot of the play. PA -
Mason Mount - 9, Dictated a lot of England’s play in the first half and showed bags of creativity. Assisted the third after making a smart interception. EPA -
Jesse Lingard - 7, Failed to make the most of a couple of good chances but took up some superb positions on the pitch and set up England’s fourth. AFP -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 8, Missed a great chance early on, but got England’s second with a good header and tapped in the fourth. Reuters -
Raheem Sterling - 7, Was very wasteful with a few chances near the beginning but scored England’s third of the game. Reuters -
SUBSTITUTES: Kieran Trippier (James HT) - 5, The right-back could have been a lot better with his passing in the final third but did a job when called upon defensively. PA -
Phil Foden (Sterling HT) - 8, Was very lively throughout and passed the ball with conviction, eventually getting the assist for Ollie Watkins’ goal. AFP -
Tyrone Mings (Stones HT) - 5, Had very little to do but picked up a yellow card for a silly foul on Nicola Nanni. AFP -
Jude Bellingham (Mount HT) - 7, Showed plenty of quality with the ball at his feet and usually made good decisions. Came close to scoring a couple of times. PA -
Ollie Watkins (Calvert-Lewin 63’) - 8, Showed great running and managed to score a well-taken goal on his debut. EPA
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“That deeper position is one that Mason doesn’t really play at his club but I think it is possible for him,” he said. “He is a very intelligent player, can play 4, 8 or 10 and I think he can adapt as required.”
Dominic Calvert-Lewin struck twice against San Marino to double his England tally and Southgate likes his more prolific streak. “The difference has been goals,” he said. “His link play has always been good but until the last 18 months, he wasn’t finishing those chances.”
Luke Shaw could win a first England cap since 2018 after excelling for Manchester United and Southgate said: “He doesn’t need to do anything differently. First and foremost, Luke is a good defender.
"He is good to defend against one on one and he is getting better at covering his centre-backs.
“It has been great to see him playing on the front foot with his defending and being really ambitious with his attacking. He looks as if physically he is in a good condition to drive forward. There has never been any doubt in our mind of Luke’s quality. He has suffered from injuries.”
Southgate has the option of picking a back four from the Manchester clubs, with United’s Shaw and Harry Maguire and City’s John Stones and Kyle Walker and he said: “That cohesion between units on the field is always helpful. When you don’t have a long time to work together as a team those edges can be decisive.”
