England may have won 7-0 but the defence looked shaky with Stones needing to do more

NOT that there was ever any doubt — but England will be back here at Wembley in the group stages of Euro 2020.

And whoever they face on June 14, 19 and 23, boss Gareth Southgate’s forwards will be confident of causing a fair amount of damage.

England qualified on their 1,000 game in front of a home crowd at WembleyCredit: PA:Empics Sport

But even though they have conceded just six goals from seven games in Group A, it is England’s defence which remains a major issue.

Any opponents who arrive in London next summer will certainly be a hell of a lot better in attack than anything we have seen in this truly terrible qualifying group.

The key problem now for Southgate is who plays with Harry Maguire at centre-back.

John Stones remains the natural choice and this was his first England game since a torrid match against Holland in the Nations League semi-final in June, when he was caught out for two of the goals in a 3-1 win.

Loss of form and injury saw Stones miss the previous two England squads — but a return to Manchester City’s first team was enough to land him a 39th cap against the hopeless Montenegrins.

But even against such weak opponents, England looked slightly shaky at the back on the rare occasions they were put under pressure — and Stones could have done more.

Southgate needs Maguire back in the position he plays for Manchester UnitedCredit: Getty Images – Getty

He has supreme ability with the ball at his feet.

When in possession he looked comfortable, moved forward effortlessly and linked with the midfield.

But in an embarrassing first half for Montenegro where they lost five goals, they could still have scored twice. At 3-0, Stones switched off to allow Marko Simic a free header — which was saved brilliantly by Jordan Pickford.

Stones and Maguire were then cut open by a through ball. They were thankful Pickford delivered another decent save to deny Fatos Beciraj.

Hopefully, Stones continues to play more games for City and deliver the type of form he showed before the injuries started.

Unfortunately for Southgate, unlike in other areas, he does not have many options.

The key problem now for Southgate is who plays with Harry Maguire at centre-back.Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

Joe Gomez, regardless of his ability to irritate Raheem Sterling, has suffered due to a lack of games for Liverpool — and then poor performances when he has been picked by Jurgen Klopp.

And after the events of the last week, it will not have helped that Gomez was jeered by an idiotic section of the home crowd when he came on for the last 20 minutes.

Plus Michael Keane did not cover himself in glory for England in previous games — which is why Maguire moved to the right-hand berth against Bulgaria last month — with Tyrone Mings filling in.

Although you could consider Mings unlucky not to start here, Southgate needs Maguire back in the position he plays for Manchester United.

So, Southgate has a big decision to make ahead of Sunday’s game in Kosovo, a team who are certainly better than Montenegro — not that they could be any worse.

For the time being at least, and while we must be patient with this incredibly young team, the defence is still a work in progress.

Whether it improves enough for England to be back here at Wembley for the semi-finals next summer remains to be seen.

Joe Gomez, regardless of his ability to irritate Raheem Sterling, has suffered due to a lack of games for LiverpoolCredit: Reuters

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk