In their first international match since the defeat on penalties to Italy in the EURO 2020 final, England continued their perfect start in their World Cup qualifying group with the win over Hungary.
The Puskas Arena in Budapest was fully packed, and widespread booing was heard in the stadium as England players took a knee before kick-off. However, Southgate’s side overcame the hostile crowd and managed to get an impressive 4-0 win against one of the surprise teams in this year’s EURO.
Although the Three Lions did not produce a shot on target in the first 45 minutes, the goals eventually came in the second half. Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Harry Maguire all found the net in the second half and sealed England’s victory.
England now sits on top of the table in Group I with maximum points out of four matches. The next two matches for Southgate’s side are on the 5th against Andorra on Wembley and the 8th against Poland in Warsaw.
England players subjected to alleged racist abuse.
England players Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were said to be subjects of monkey chants by the crowd in the Puskas Arena. Many eyewitnesses claim that the abuse was first directed at Sterling as he was first on the scoresheet for the Three Lions and then at Bellingham while he was warming up on the touchline.
This is not the first time England players are subjected to racist abuse, as some of the best premier league players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka were also targets of social media racists after their penalty misses against Italy in the final on Wembley.