Gareth Southgate feels privileged to be anywhere near a century of matches at the England helm as he prepares for a repeat of the fixture where it all began for him seven years ago.
Having rebuffed the Football Association’s initial approach after Euro 2016, the then Under-21s boss was parachuted into the hotseat after Sam Allardyce’s swift, ignominious exit.
Southgate’s first game in temporary charge was a World Cup qualifier against Malta, with Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli securing a 2-0 win in October 2016.
Friday sees the Mediterranean minnows return to Wembley for the first time since then – a night when the England boss will take charge of his 90th senior international.
“I know the numbers and I am aware that Bobby Robson was 95 games,” Southgate said.
“If you had said to me the first time we played Malta that would be the case, I don’t know how I would have thought about that.
“It has been a privilege to take as many games as we have and we have had some wonderful experiences and incredible nights along that journey.
“I am very happy to be in with the sort of names that have managed that many games.”
Southgate is on track to become the first England manager to oversee a century of matches since Sir Alf Ramsey – a feat that could be achieved in the Euro 2024 knockout phase.
But silverware in Germany rather than individual milestones is the only focus ahead of potentially his final tournament in charge.
England sealed progress to next year’s Euros with two games to spare, yet a packed Wembley crowd will still be in attendance on Friday for the home game of an unbeaten year.
Southgate wants to bring the curtain down in style against Malta after a disruptive build-up in which five of his players withdrew through injury, two were absent for personal reasons and three uncapped players were called up.
“We want to play well,” Southgate said. “We’ve got close to 90,000 people coming – this is the last time we play at home in this calendar year.
“Our performances across the calendar year have been very good and we want to finish the year well.
“There are some individual things we would like to see and like to learn a little bit more about.
“But clearly that is tempered by the sort of test that is going to be.
“There are specifics for this game where you are going to have to break down a packed defence and we have to make sure we have the players in the starting team that can unlock those doors as well.
“So, you are always trying to achieve a number of different objectives.
“It has been a complicated week in that the five days leading into the camp, we lost a lot of players.
“Each day, somebody else seemed to go so there has been a lot of change within the squad and it has not been easy to get all of the players on the pitch every day.
“Tuesday, we hardly did anything training-wise so it has been a much shorter week and we are pleased with where the team is for the game and we are looking forward to seeing them play.”
England complete this year’s schedule away to North Macedonia on Monday, before attention turns to the Euro 2024 draw in Hamburg on December 2.
Preparations are well under way and Southgate says winning is “implicit in everything” he does as he looks to turn seven years of learnings into silverware.
“I guess the biggest thing I have experienced is that you take charge of one of the most high-pressured jobs in world football and had to manage some of the biggest matches in world football,” he said.
“There is only a World Cup final that we haven’t done.
“You understand what that means in the longer term, in terms of what you have learned, what you have taken from those experiences.
“And the fact we have dealt with those challenges and that pressure, which can sometimes really inhibit people and, frankly, a lot of people could not cope with that pressure, so I feel pleased we have shown that we can do that.
“I am sure there will have been a lot of doubts some years ago whether I was capable of doing that and, of course, there will be other doubts people will have and that will always be the same.
“You will always have questions asked of you but as a person, and as a coach, you will always learn through every experience you have and every day will throw a different challenge and you are learning all the time.”
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford: Two-goal Gray rescues point for Rooney's side
Andre Gray scored twice against his former club to salvage a point for struggling Plymouth Argyle as they drew 2-2 with Watford on Friday.
Gray curled in an equaliser in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to seal a crucial point for Wayne Rooney's side in their bid for survival in the Championship.
The visitors made a quick start at Home Park when Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo bundled in a cross from Yasser Larouci only eight minutes in.
Plymouth did, however, equalise against the run of play in the 23rd minute when Lewis Gibson's long ball into the box was met with a spectacular volley from Gray.
Watford regained the lead before the break when Imran Louza's free-kick was knocked back by Mattie Pollock, with centre-back Ryan Porteous on hand to steer the ball home.
But just as it looked like Watford would go home with all three points, Gray picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired home a stunning effort beyond Daniel Bachmann.
Tom Cleverley's Watford sit in fifth place and trail leaders Sunderland by five points, while Plymouth are 17th with 17 points from 16 matches.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Toulouse: Neves stars in comfortable home win
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday.
Following Monaco's 3-2 win over Brest earlier in the day, Luis Enrique's side responded emphatically to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
After a dominant start, PSG got themselves ahead in stunning fashion when Achraf Hakimi's cross was brilliantly driven first-time into the bottom corner by Joao Neves.
But Toulouse provided a threat after the break and should have drawn level in the 70th minute through Shavy Babicka, but he fired over with only Matvey Safonov to beat.
That mistake ultimately proved costly with the hosts doubling their advantage eight minutes from time when Beraldo took advantage of some poor defending to finish inside the box.
The triumph was sealed in the first minute of second-half stoppage time through substitute Vitinha, who danced into the box before finishing high into the corner from close range.
Luis Enrique's side will now turn their attentions to the Champions League, with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich awaiting on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Party in Paris
PSG's dominance in Ligue 1 continued on Friday, with Luis Enrique's side now having lost just one of their last 41 matches in the top-flight (W30 D10).
Neves was a particular standout for the hosts, winning more duels (nine), registering the joint-most shots on target (two) and the joint-most final third entries (seven) during the game.
Despite the scoreline, PSG were perhaps fortunate to emerge victorious. Though Luis Enrique's side accumulated 17 shots to Toulouse's 11, it was the visitors who ended the contest with a higher expected goals (xG) total, managing 1.39 to the Parisiens' 1.35.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
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