Our David John is backing Marcus Rashford to come up with a goal when England host Slovakia on Monday night.
It was all a bit staccato from England for 85-odd minutes in Malta on Friday night but Gareth Southgate’s troops stuck at it and the stoic hosts eventually ran out of puff.
We have seen similar match scenarios many times before from the Three Lions after they failed to break down a deep-lying, packed defence as fans and match analyst Glenn Hoddle got increasingly frustrated over the potential squandering of precious World Cup qualifying points.
But a little piece of composure from an otherwise under-par Dele Alli to find Spurs team-mate Harry Kane - a relieved man having now exited the month of August - set things in motion on the way to a convincing 4-0 scoreline by the final whistle.
I was much less critical of England than Hoddle - yes, this was not free-flowing football against a thoroughly outclassed rival but the performance of a group of players that are still very early in the domestic season and unlikely to be firing on all cylinders until the next round of international fixtures in October.
When you have match-winners like Alli, Kane and Marcus Rashford to call on though the cause is never lost and while Southgate might not have been at his most effervescent on the touchline, I like his measured approach to getting the most out of this crop of England players.
It is on to Monday night now and Wembley for a fixture against second-placed Slovakia, where three points for the hosts would just about seal, but not quite mathematically, their place in next summer’s finals in Russia.
The visitors kept with within two points of the Group F leaders thanks to a scruffy own goal that sank Slovenia 1-0 and will bid for a second victory over the weekend to actually overhaul England at the top of the standings.
A surprise outcome like that is probably about the right price at around the 8/1 mark and I don’t see Southgate making too many changes to his starting XI back on home soil.
The one tweak he could and should enforce is to demote Raheem Sterling to the bench and allow Rashford an opportunity from the start.
Sterling looked particularly sloppy and wasteful in the opening period against Malta, perhaps with an excuse on the back of a week of speculation over whether he was to be part of a mega-swap deal between Manchester City and Arsenal revolving around Alexis Sanchez.
Rashford, in contrast, has been superb in the opening couple of weeks for Manchester United and he went on the rampage against the Malta with some electrifying running at the back line and a delightful through ball to set up Kane’s second and England’s fourth goal.
A lack of serious width might be the one criticism levelled at the overall team display. Rashford is a very obvious and immediate solution and I like his chances of cutting in off the flank and causing a nuisance in and around the box against Slovakia – back him in the anytime goalscorer market.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland continue to punch above their weight in another qualifying campaign and just a point on Monday night at Windsor Park against the Czech Republic would ensure second spot at the very least in Group C.
However, it was Scotland who really caught the eye as they kept their hopes alive of reaching a first major football finals since 1998 by ruthlessly disposing of Lithuania 3-0.
Manager Gordon Strachan let his charges off the leash and a high-pressing, energetic display had them on the front foot from a very early stage as they skipped across the artificial playing surface in Vilnius.
The Scots will be praying England do them a huge favour by collecting three points while victory at Hampden Park over our old friends Malta would see them close the gap on second place to just a point with all to play for when Scotland welcome Slovakia to Glasgow on October 5.
Strachan and his side are 1/20 in a place for three vital points on Monday and after all the jubilation in Lithuania, it would be a nightmare if they were unable to do the business here.
I don’t expect any outcome other than a home win in all fairness but the inherent pressure for teams at this stage of proceedings might not lead to the taps being turned on so backing a home triumph and under 3.5 total goals in the game at odds-against gets the vote.
Recommended bets: World Cup qualifying
Posted at 1035 BST on 03/09/17.