Liverpool's Adam Lallana supplied an assist and played the full 90 minutes for England as they defeated Lithuania in a 2018 World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening.

The midfielder, taking up a more withdrawn role than the attacking position he played in against Germany on Wednesday, was once again one of his nation's more impressive performers.

Reds' midfielder central to much of England's best play

Lallana's deft touch released Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy to slide inside the near post to double the home side's advantage on 65 minutes, the fourth time the Reds' No.20 has been directly involved in a goal in his last five international appearances.

In addition, Lallana also created one of England's best opportunities of the evening when he slid Jermain Defoe in on goal in the first-half, though the Sunderland striker saw his shot well saved.

But soon after, Defoe opened the scoring on his first England appearance since November 2013 and the Three Lions eventually ran out comfortable winners to maintain their grip on Group F's top spot and remain unbeaten in their last 34 qualifiers.

England are also the only team in 2018 World Cup qualifying yet to concede a single goal, their next clash against Scotland in June.

28-year-old Lallana constantly drifted in and out of space and had a notable impact throughout, though England overall laboured to victory.

His Liverpool teammate Nathaniel Clyne was again an unused substitute, with Tottenham Hotspur's Kyle Walker having seemingly cemented himself as Gareth Southgate's first-choice right-back.

Emre Can was also an unused substitute on Sunday as Germany overcame Azerbaijan in a Group C qualifier, winning 4-1 with former Chelsea wide-man André Schürrle scoring twice as they sealed a fifth straight win in five qualifying matches.

Wijnaldum's Netherlands suffer crushing defeat while Brewster features again

Liverpool also had internationals in action on Saturday, with Georginio Wijnaldum playing just 45 minutes as Netherlands suffered a damaging 2-0 defeat at Bulgaria in a qualifier of their own.

Spas Delev's first-half double means Wijnaldum's country are fourth in Group A with just seven points from five games, six points off of first-placed France.

The result at the Vasil Levski National Stadium leaves the Netherlands in serious danger of missing a second successive major tournament after failing to qualify for Euro 2016. They host Italy in a friendly on Tuesday, where Wijnaldum will hope to be involved.

Elsewhere, Simon Mignolet and Divock Origi were unused substitutes as Belgium required an 89th minute equaliser from Everton's Romelu Lukaku to draw 1-1 at home to Greece in a World Cup qualifier.

The Red Devils remain two points clear at the top of Group H and travel to Russia for a friendly on Tuesday.

Also on Saturday, Rhian Brewster played for an hour as England U17s thrashed Slovenia 4-0 to qualify for the European U17 Championship finals.

The 16-year-old scored twice against Czech Republic earlier in the week, but Manchester City's Jadon Sancho, Tottenham Hotspur's Timothy Eyoma and Reading's Daniel Loader handed the Young Lions victory which guarantees them their place in the finals in Croatia this summer.

Steve Cooper's youngsters complete their elite round qualifying campaign against Bosnia in Bijeljina on Tuesday and need just a point to finish top of Group 7.

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.